Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a 2017 American adventure comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by the writing teams of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, and Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, based on a story conceived by McKenna. The film is the third installment in the Jumanji film series and a stand-alone sequel to Jumanji (1995). It stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, and Bobby Cannavale. The story focuses on a group of teenagers who come across Jumanji, now transformed into a video game twenty-two years after the events of the 1995 film. They find themselves trapped inside the game as a set of adult avatars, seeking to complete a treacherous quest alongside another player who has been trapped since 1996. Principal photography began in Honolulu in September 2016 and ended in Atlanta in December, with the film containing notable references to the first film as a tribute to its lead actor Robin Williams. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on December 5, 2017, and was released in the United States on December 20 by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise for its humor and performances. It grossed $962.5 million worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2017. A sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, was released on December 13, 2019.