‘Jumanji’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’ to take on ‘Star Wars’ at Christmas weekend box office

That “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is going to dominate moviegoing during the long Christmas weekend is a given.

The Walt Disney Co.-backed space opera is expected to gross as much as $150 million Wednesday through Monday in the United States and Canada, following a stellar $220-million three-day domestic opening. Globally, the Lucasfilm blockbuster has already grossed $495 million.

But rival studios aren’t letting “Star Wars” ruin their holiday. Sony Pictures’ “Jumanji” reboot and Universal Pictures’ “Pitch Perfect 3” are both expected to do solid business this weekend, giving a boost to theater owners who are expecting the annual box office to come in below last year’s record. Analysts expect domestic ticket sales to clock in at about $11 billion for 2017, about 3% lower than 2016.

20th Century Fox’s musical “The Greatest Showman” will also vie for attention at the multiplex, as will Paramount’s quirky comedy “Downsizing,” Warner Bros.’ R-rated laugher “Father Figures” and the much anticipated “All the Money in the World.”

‘Welcome to the Jungle’

It has been more than two decades since the original “Jumanji” introduced the concept of a jungle-set board game that comes to life. With “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” Sony Pictures is bringing back the franchise with a video gaming twist and the box office muscle of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart.

The reboot, which has earned mostly positive reviews so far, is expected to gross at least $45 million during the six-day weekend, and some analysts think it could collect as much as $70 million. That means the $90-million production has a good shot at being the highest-grossing newcomer at theaters this weekend. The movie follows a group of teenagers who get dropped into a video game world in the form of avatars played by Johnson, Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan.

Battling “Jumanji” for the second-place position will be “Pitch Perfect 3,” the latest in Universal’s series about a female a cappella group featuring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. Opening Friday, the ensemble comedy is on track for a solid four-day opening of about $30 million. However, the new movie is not expected to soar as high as “Pitch Perfect 2,” which opened in May 2015 at No. 1 with $69 million.

The “Pitch Perfect” series has been a highly profitable franchise for Universal since the first movie, released in 2012, became an online sensation and a breakout hit at theaters and on home video by appealing mostly to women. The original grossed $115 million worldwide, followed by “Pitch Perfect 2,” which ended up with $287 million in global grosses.

Show stopper?

Studios are also looking to court adult audiences over the holiday weekend.

Fox, for example is going after the adult crowd with “The Greatest Showman,” an $84-million musical starring Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum. The movie, billed as a celebration of the birth of show business, is poised to open with $20 million to $25 million in its first six days, starting Wednesday. The movie, produced by Chernin Entertainment, is hoping to capture some of the box office magic that turned fellow musical “La La Land” into a huge hit last year.

Paramount’s “Downsizing,” about a society in which people seek a fresh start by becoming 5 inches tall through an innovative medical procedure, is likely to collect $10 million in its first four days. The social satire starring Matt Damon is the latest film from “Sideways” director Alexander Payne. Warner Bros.’ “Father Figures,” about two brothers (Owen Wilson and Ed Helms) trying to find their dad, will probably gross about $8 million.

Finally, Ridley Scott’s kidnapping thriller “All the Money in the World” will open Christmas Day after a harrowing scramble to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer in the role of J. Paul Getty. Spacey was removed from the project following sexual assault allegations against him. The movie, getting its release under Sony Pictures’ TriStar label, is expected to score $2 million to $3 million in its first day in theaters.