Predicting The 20 Highest Grossing Movies Of 2017
15. Jumanji
Prediction: $650m
Hollywood's biggest paycheck The Rock breathes life into the Jumanji franchise with a spiritual sequel that will pay homage to Robin Williams and advance the story of the beloved original. Jack Black's in it too, but don't let that put you off.
Why It's Golden
It's pretty much a perfect storm for Columbia Pictures: they can trade on the same sort of nostalgia that made Jurassic World so popular last year; they have The Rock who might as well be a big pile of walking money; and they have the Robin Williams element. It's cynical to say it, but Paul Walker's death pushed Fast & Furious 7 at the box office, and the same could well happen here.
Will It Be Any Good?
The Rock doesn't make turkeys any more, which is a stunning thing to say of a pro wrestler turned actor, and the rest of the cast is impressive with Kevin Hart promising to revive the chemistry they had in Centra Intelligence. Karen Gillan is always good to watch and despite the cheap shot at Jack Black, he's still the same guy who made School Of Rock and High Fidelity.
Let's just hope THAT guy turns up on set.
There's a lot of potential still in the Jumanji universe (the idea is still just as good as it was for this and for Zathura) and it's about time someone dived back in.