‘Jumanji’ reclaims top spot as Super Bowl slows weekend box office roll

Super Bowl weekend is usually a slow period at the box office, and this weekend is no exception.

As Hollywood steps aside for the matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots, only one title debuted in wide release, and films released around Christmas continue to dominate the box office. All told, the estimated $92 million in total box office makes this one of the lowest grossing Super Bowl weekends since at least 2005, outpacing only 2014, 2013 and 2011.

Sony’s surprise smash “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle� returned to the top spot in its seventh weekend in theaters, adding $11 million in earnings for a cumulative $352.6 million, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore. The film has made $503.1 million internationally for a grand total of $855.7 million.

“Jumanji’s� weekend gross is the lowest to claim the top spot on a Super Bowl weekend in the last 12 years. (It comes in just below another Kevin Hart comedy, 2014’s “Ride Along,� which topped the charts with $12 million in its third weekend four years ago.)

In second place, 20th Century Fox’s “Maze Runner: The Death Cure� added $10.2 million in its second weekend (a 58% decline), for a cumulative $39.8 million in earnings.

The final installment in a trilogy based on a series of young adult novels had a shot at holding the No. 1 position after premiering in the top spot last week. This weekend’s earnings fall at the low end of the $10-million to $12-million range analysts predicted.

Debuting in third place, CBS Films’ “Winchester� made $9.2 million this weekend, landing on the high end of analysts’ predictions.

The haunted-mansion period horror movie, starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren as eccentric heiress Sarah Winchester, was expected to gross $8 million to $9 million this weekend, according to people who have reviewed pre-release audience surveys.

The film, which is very loosely inspired by real people and events, received mixed reviews among audiences and critics, earning a B- rating on CinemaScore and a 9% “rotten� rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

Coming in fourth, Fox’s “The Greatest Showman� (also in its seventh week) added $7.8 million in earnings and once again claimed the smallest decline in the top 10 (down just 18%) for a cumulative $137.5 million.

Rounding out the top five, Entertainment Studio Motion Pictures’ western “Hostiles� (now in its second wide-release weekend and seventh weekend overall) added 118 locations and $5.5 million in earnings, a 45% decline, for a cumulative $21.2 million.

Among Academy Award contenders, Fox Searchlight’s “The Shape of Water� — which is nominated for 13 Oscars and took the top prize at this weekend’s Directors Guild of America awards — added 487 theaters and $4.3 million in earnings. Although it saw a 27% decline from the previous weekend, the romantic fantasy boosted its cumulative earnings to $44.6 million.

Fox Searchlight also added 269 engagements to seven-time Oscar nominee and SAG ensemble award winner “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,� which took in $3 million (a modest 21% decline) for a cumulative $41.8 million.

Neon’s “I, Tonya,� (up for three Oscars) added 490 theaters and $2.5 million to its earnings, slipping just 16% from the previous weekend for a cumulative $22.6 million.

In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics’ “A Fantastic Woman� opened in five theaters and earned $70,978, for a respectable per-screen average of $14,196. The film, which premiered at last year’s Berlin film festival and scored a prize for its screenplay, is nominated in the foreign language film category at this year’s Oscars.

Next weekend, Universal drops the trilogy-ending “Fifty Shades Freed,� Warner Bros. opens Clint Eastwood’s fact-based drama “The 15:17 to Paris,� and Sony/Columbia premieres the family-friendly “Peter Rabbit.�

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UPDATES:

10:45 a.m.: This story has been updated with past Super Bowl weekend box office performances and with earnings for Academy Award contenders.

This article was first published at 9:45 a.m.