20 Movies Way More Successful Than Anyone Expected

Prior to its release, the deck really seemed stacked against Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. 

For one, many balked at the idea of a new Jumanji movie at all following the tragic 2014 passing of Robin Williams, and a cast led by Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, and Kevin Hart didn't win too many over.

Then there was the utterly mediocre marketing, which made it look like just another generic jungle-set action film starring The Rock, and the fact that it was due to release just five days after Star Wars: The Last Jedi - a move many called commercial suicide.

But Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle received unexpectedly positive reviews for its fun body-swap gimmick and the performances of its four leads, and more surprisingly, managed to blow past box office tracking by grossing $962.5 million against a $90 million price tag.

This mammoth performance has been heavily attributed to the polarising audience response to The Last Jedi, which as a result had less return business from audiences, prompting many of them to check out Jumanji instead during the holiday period.

Though sequel Jumanji: The Next Level didn't reach quite the same heights, it still topped out at a very respectable $801.7 million, while a third film is expected to start shooting in November for a December 2026 release.

For a film many pegged as a big, fat flop right out of the gate, what an outcome.