Jumanji: The Next Level Projected to Win Box Office With Potential $50 Million Opening Weekend

There's still another week before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters and takes total control of the box office. That leaves this weekend completely wide open for another film to rake in pre-holiday money, and it looks as though Jumanji: The Next Level will be the one to do it. Given the success of 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Next Level has long been expected to win its opening weekend, but projections are now suggesting it could shine even brighter than initial reports.

According to new tracking numbers from The Hollywood Reporter, Jumanji: The Next Level is eyeing an opening weekend somewhere in the range of $40-$50 million. However, Sony is being a little more conservative with its in-house projections, suggesting a mere $35 million haul this weekend.

If Jumanji's opening weekend take lines up with the outside projections, it will be more than enough to top the debut of its predecessor. Welcome to the Jungle opened to $36 million in December 2017, but it had the difficult task of hitting theaters after the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Helping The Next Level's cause is a lack of major competition this weekend. Frozen 2 and Knives Out have already been out for several weeks, so their hauls aren't exactly a threat to the new blockbuster. Also opening this weekend is Clint Eastwood's potential awards contender, Richard Jewell, and the Blumhouse holiday horror film, Black Christmas. Neither movie is expected to have a massive opening weekend. Black Christmas is aiming for a $12 million debut, which is a definite win when you consider its $5 million budget. The acclaimed Richard Jewell is looking to earn about $10 million over the course of the weekend.

The biggest key for Jumanji: The Next Level is how it will be able to perform through the holidays and into the new year. Welcome to the Jungle shined throughout its entire run, going on to earn $404.5 million in North America and $962.1 million around the globe.

Are you heading out to see Jumanji: The Next Level this weekend? How much money do you think it will make in its debut? Let us know in the comments!

Jumanji: The Next Level arrives in theaters on December 13th.