In 1996, Brantford,New Hampshire, teenager Alex Vreeke receivesJumanji, which was previously disposed of by Alan Parrish and Sarah Whittle in 1969,[a] from his father, who found it on the coast. However, he sets it aside, being only interested in video games. Later that night, Alex finds it transformed into avideo game cartridge. Opting to play, he is sucked inside the game, disappearing from the real world as time continues to pass, thus leaving the Vreeke family's house in a disheveled state.
Twenty one years later, four Brantford High School students – awkward Spencer Gilpin, athletic Anthony "Fridge" Johnson, narcissistic Bethany Walker, and cynical Martha Kaply are given detention for their misbehavior; Fridge and Spencer for having been caught cheating on their assignments, Bethany for making a video call during a quiz, and Martha for insulting thegym teacher. Upon finding Alex's discarded video game system and starting it up, the group is sucked intoJumanji, landing in a jungle as their chosen avatars – Spencer as musculararchaeologist Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone, Fridge as diminutivezoologist Franklin "Mouse" Finbar, Bethany as male, overweightcartographer andpaleontologist Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon, and Martha as sultrymartial arts expert Ruby Roundhouse. Three marks on their arms denote their lives in the game, making them afraid that if they lose all three, they will actually die.
The group's goal is to end a curse onJumanji, brought about by a corrupt archaeologist and the games primaryantagonist, Professor Van Pelt[b] after he stole a magical jewel called the "Jaguar's Eye" and gained control of the jungle's animals. They must return the jewel to the shrine and call out "Jumanji" to lift the curse and leave the game.
Coping with their avatars, their "weaknesses", Van Pelt's men, and their own group dynamics as they begin their journey, they encounter Alex playing the fifth avatar –pilot Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough – who takes them to a treehouse that Alan built during his tenure in Jumanji. Alex thinks he has only been stuck in the game for a couple of months; everyone, including him, is shocked to realize he has been there for two decades. The group coordinate with each other's strengths and work together to overcome the game's obstacles. They manage to return the jewel to the statue, break the curse and return to the real world.
Back in the present, the group finds the Vreeke home restored and lively, compared to its previous state after Alex's disappearance. They meet Alex, now an adult, who explains that he returned to 1996, allowing him to live his life. He remained in Brantford and now leads a married life with two children: a daughter called Bethany, named in honor of Bethany Walker, as she had saved him by sacrificing one of her own lives in the game, and a son named Andy.
Spencer, Fridge, Bethany and Martha form an unlikely friendship after their experiences in the game, having bonded and become better people, including Bethany becoming more of an outdoor person, Spencer and Fridge patch things up and Spencer and Martha beginning a relationship. Soon, after hearing drumbeat sounds coming from the game, they destroy the game with aBowling Ball to prevent it from endangering anyone else and they left.
Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Gilpin: An intelligent, butneurotic high school student. InJumanji, he is transformed into Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone, a strong, confidentarchaeologist andexplorer who has no weaknesses.
Kevin Hart as Anthony "Fridge" Johnson: Ahigh school football player whose friendship with Spencer has deteriorated due to their different social statuses. InJumanji, he is transformed into Franklin "Mouse" Finbar, a diminutivezoologist and weapons carrier who has a weakness to strength, speed, andcake.
Jack Black as Bethany Walker: A popular and vain high school student. InJumanji, she is transformed into Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon, an overweight male expert in manyscientific fields such ascartography, archaeology,palaeontology, andcryptography who has a weakness to endurance.
Karen Gillan as Martha Kaply: A quiet and shy high school student with a cynical intellect, who is Spencer's primary love interest and vice-versa. InJumanji, she is transformed into Ruby Roundhouse, a scantily-cladcommando who is talented withmartial arts such askarate,tai chi,aikido, andcapoeira; and who also has a weakness tovenom.
Rhys Darby as Nigel Billingsley: AnNPC inJumanji who serves as the primary guide for its players
Bobby Cannavale as Russell Van Pelt:[c] An NPC presented as a corrupt archaeologist and former partner of Bravestone's. He is a reimagined version of the Van Pelt character from theoriginal film.
Nick Jonas as Alex Vreeke: A teenager who has been trapped inJumanji since 1996. In the game, he is transformed into Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough, anaircraft pilot with a weakness tomosquitoes.[6]
Mason Guccione as teenage Alex andColin Hanks as adult Alex in the real world. Hanks was uncredited for his role.
Additionally,Marin Hinkle, Tracey Bonner, and Natasha Charles Packer play the mothers of Spencer, Fridge, and Bethany respectively. Appearing as staff members of Brantford High School areMarc Evan Jackson as Principal Bentley, Carlease Burke as history teacher Miss Mathers,Missi Pyle as gym teacher Coach Webb, andMaribeth Monroe as Bethany's English teacher. Kat Altman portrays Bethany's friend Lucinda and Michael Shacket portrays Spencer's friend Fussfeld. Alex's father is played by Sean Buxton in 1996 and an uncreditedTim Matheson in the present day. In Jumanji,William Tokarsky andRohan Chand appear as a food vendor and a boy, respectively, in the marketplace.
Plans for aJumanji sequel were put forward bySony Pictures Entertainment in the late 1990s. As reported byAin't It Cool News, astand-alone sequel entitledJumanji 2 was in development in 1999. The plot of the story involved John Cooper, thePresident of the United States, buying Jumanji from an old antique store inEurope and bringing it to theWhite House to play it with his children (one of whom, Butch, just wants a dad, not a President for a father). Cooper then gets sucked into the world of Jumanji, paving the way for his evilVice President, who was supposed to be played bySteve Buscemi, to rise to power as Cooper's replacement.[7] Inside the game, Cooper would have teamed up withhybrid animals, which were going to be animated withCGI; Sony Pictures Consumer Products executive VP of worldwide consumer products Peter Dang revealed prototype drawings of animals that might have appeared in the film, all designed byKen Ralston, who served as visual effects supervisor in the original film and was planned to make hisdirectorial debut withJumanji 2, slated for aChristmas 2000 release date.[8] The first film's co-writer,Jonathan Hensleigh, had written the initial draft. Ralston eventually stepped down and the project stalled, albeit the DVD commentary of the first film still references a sequel directed by Ralston.[9] Several other directors and writers came and went on the project, includingSteve Oedekerk,Adam Rifkin,David S. Ward,Don Rhymer, and the original authorChris Van Allsburg.[10] Then in 2002, a new iteration of the sequel was reported byVariety. DirectorDennis Dugan hadpitched his own version of the sequel that was said to have used the full potential of the board game and would have brought backRobin Williams, who Dugan believed would have more comedic opportunity.Peter Ackerman was being looked at to write.[11] When they were unable to interest Williams in the sequel, Sony passed on the project and moved on to developZathura.[12]
In July 2012, rumors circulated that a remake ofJumanji was in development.Columbia Pictures presidentDoug Belgrad said: "We're going to try and reimagineJumanji and update it for the present".[13] It was confirmed on August 1 that Matthew Tolmach would produce the new version with William Teitler (who produced the original film).[14] In August 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the film was scheduled for release on December 25, 2016.[15] Online reception to the news was negative, with some saying that the announcement came too soon after the death ofRobin Williams in August 2014 (who played Alan Parrish in the original film).[16][17] The announcement was criticized byBradley Pierce (who played Peter Shepherd inJumanji) and byE! News, which called the remake "unnecessary and kind of insulting".[18][19]Scott Rosenberg was hired in October 2015 to rewrite the script for the film, whose production was a high priority for the studio.[20]Jake Kasdan was hired to direct the film the following year in January from a script by Rosenberg andJeff Pinkner based on a draft by original writersChris McKenna and Erik Sommers.[21]
The film's complete title,Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, was confirmed in Cinemacon 2017 held in March. Its plot involved teenagers cleaning out a school's basement, who find avintage video-game version ofJumanji and are sucked into the first film's jungle setting. Although fans debated whether the film was a sequel or areboot, the second trailer (released that September) indicated that the sequel is set 21 years after the first. Dwayne Johnson noted that the film was inspired by classicvideo games of the 1990s.[22][23] The film had used the working title "Jumanji" and the final title and the use of the song "Welcome to the Jungle" was suggested by Jack Black.[24]
Dwayne Johnson andKevin Hart were in early talks in April 2016 to star in the film (although both actors had other projects at the time).[25] Johnson confirmed his casting onInstagram later that month.[26] In July,Nick Jonas joined the film's cast with Johnson, Hart, andJack Black.[27] Black and Hart were paid $5 and $10 million for their involvement, respectively.[28] The following month, Johnson said that the film would not be a reboot but a continuation of the 1995 film;[29]Karen Gillan was announced as part of the cast.[30] On September 20,Ser'Darius Blain was cast as Anthony "Fridge" Johnson andMadison Iseman as Bethany Walker. Two days later,Rhys Darby was cast as Nigel Billingsley, Morgan Turner as Martha Kaply, andAlex Wolff as Spencer Gilpin.[31][32][33] In November,Bobby Cannavale announced his casting in the film,[34] and in December,Tim Matheson joined the cast as Old Man Vreeke.[35]
Sony initially gave the film a release date of December 25, 2016.[41] Since filming did not begin until September 2016, the release was pushed back to July 28 and then to December 20, 2017.[2]
Amazon Prime members in the United States could access to tickets for a December 8 screening of the film at selectRegal,National Amusements,ArcLight Cinemas andAMC theaters.[42] The screenings sold out at 1,200 theaters and earned $1.9 million.[43] The film was released onIMAX 2D on January 12, 2018.
In India, the film was released in English, Tamil, Hindi & Telugu languages on December 20, while in China, the film was released on December 29.[citation needed]
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was released on Digital HD on March 6, 2018, and onDVD,Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D (excluding North America) and4KUltra HD Blu-ray on March 20, while still in theaters. The Blu-ray and digital versions include two additional featurettes: "Surviving the Jungle: Spectacular Stunts!" and "Book to Board Game to Big Screen & Beyond! Celebrating The Legacy of Jumanji".[44]Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle made a revenue of $65 million from home video sales with 3.4 million units sold, making it the seventh best-selling title of 2018.[45]
In April 2021, Sony signed a deal giving Disney access to their legacy content, including theJumanji franchise to stream onDisney+ andHulu and appear on Disney's linear television networks. Disney's access to Sony's titles would come following their availability onNetflix.[46][47]
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle grossed $404.5 million in the United States and Canada and $558 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $962.5 million[4] It was thefifth-highest-grossing film of 2017.[48] On April 10, 2018, the film passedSpider-Man ($403.7 million) to become Sony's highest-grossing film domestically.[49] On December 25, 2021,Spider-Man: No Way Home surpassed the film at $405 million to become Sony's highest-grossing film domestically.Deadline Hollywood calculated its net profit as $305.7 million when factoring all expenses and revenues, making it 2017's fourth-most-profitable release.[50]
In the U.S. and Canada, the film was released on December 20, 2017, withThe Greatest Showman and was projected to gross about $60 million from 3,765 theaters in its six-day opening weekend; the studio predicted a $45 million debut.[51][52] It earned $7.2 million on its first day and $7.6 million on its second day. Over the three-day weekend, the film grossed $36.2 million (for a six-day total of $71.9 million), finishing second at the box office behindStar Wars: The Last Jedi.[53] Its weekend-only earnings increased to $50.1 million during its second weekend, again finishing in second place at the box office.[54] The 38.4 percent weekend-to-weekend increase was the fourth-largest for a film playing in over 3,000 theaters;The Greatest Showman set the record for best hold the same weekend.[55][56] The film passedStar Wars: The Last Jedi for the top spot the following weekend, declining 28.1 percent to $36 million,[57] and finished first again the following week with $28.1 million (and a total of $35.2 million over the four-dayMLK weekend).[58]Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle remained atop the box office for its third weekend, earning $19.5 million.[59]
It again topped the box office for a fourth consecutive week (its sixth week overall in theatres) with $19.5 million, topping new releases12 Strong andDen of Thieves.[60] The film continued to do well the following week, dropping 16 percent (to $16.1 million) and finishing second toMaze Runner: The Death Cure,[61] before regaining the top spot for a fifth time the following weekend with $10.9 million.[62]
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77% based on 235 reviews, and an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle uses a charming cast and a humorous twist to offer an undemanding yet solidly entertaining update on its source material."[63] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[64] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those atPostTrak gave it an 84% positive score.[53]
Dave White ofTheWrap praised the cast and called the film a pleasant surprise: "Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle is the Christmas tentpole release that aims to please and succeeds, a funny family entertainment product that subverts more expectations than it was obligated to contractually".[65] Peter Travers ofRolling Stone writes "enough star power and comic zest to deliver a fun time at the movies ... barely" and praises the cast, particularly Jack Black as hilarious and for finding the "vulnerable heart" of the character. Travers gives the film 2.5 stars out of 4.[66] Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian newspaper gives the film 3 out of 5 stars. Bradshaw praises Johnson for his "endearing performance" and calls it an "amiable effort" which can be expected to go down well on home viewings.[67]
David Ehrlich ofIndieWire gave the film a C grade, calling it unnecessary, but mildly amusing: "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is further proof that even the stalest whiff of brand recognition has become preferable to originality. Only part of the blame for that belongs to the studios, but after cannibalizing themselves for much of the last 20 years, Hollywood has clearly eaten their way down to the crumbs".[68] ForVariety,Owen Gleiberman wrote: "Excitement! Suspense! Childlike innocence! Ingeniously staged action set pieces! These are a few of the things you will not find, anywhere, inJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ... It's supposed to be a board game come to life but really, it's just a bored game."[69]
Amobile game titledJumanji: The Mobile Game, developed by Idiocracy Games and published byNHN Entertainment, was released forAndroid andiOS on December 14, 2017.[77][78] The game was removed fromGoogle Play andApp Store on May 2, 2018, and its service ended on May 24 making the game unplayable.[79]
Avirtual reality experience titledJumanji: The VR Adventure, developed by MWM Immersive and published by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality, was released onSteam forHTC Vive on January 17, 2018.[80] Although it was announced that the experience would be released onOculus Rift andPlayStation VR,[81] the releases were canceled, as the game was panned by critics for its poor graphics and hardware performance.[82] It was delisted from Steam on February 9, 2018.[80]
Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Nick Jonas discussed the plot of the nextJumanji film (referred to asJumanji 3) in interviews, including the possibility of the film exploring the origins of the game. According to Karen Gillan, the alternate ending ofJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle would have left the door open for another installment.[84][85][86][87] Kasdan returned to direct the sequel, with Rosenberg and Pinkner again writing the script and Johnson, Hart, Black, Gillan and Jonas reprising their roles.[88] Filming began in January 2019.[89] The film was released on December 13, 2019.[90]Awkwafina,Danny DeVito andDanny Glover joined the cast of the film.[91][92][93][94] Black also confirmed the new film as being the fourthJumanji film because ofZathura: A Space Adventure (2005) serving as the second film and sharing continuity with the other films of the series, withJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle serving as the third film.[95][96]