Jumanji: The Next Level
Jumanji: The Next Level is a 2019 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan and co-written by Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg. It is a sequel to 2017's "", the second follow-up to 1995's "Jumanji", and is the fourth installment in the "Jumanji" franchise. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman reprising their roles from the previous film while Awkwafina, Rory McCann, Danny Glover, and Danny DeVito also join the cast. The film's plot takes place  two years after "Welcome to the Jungle", in which the same group of teenagers, along with an old friend and two unwitting additions, become trapped in "Jumanji" once again. There, they all find themselves facing new problems and challenges with both old and new avatars while having to save the land from a new villain to escape. Principal photography took place during 2019, between January 21 to May 11 in locations including Atlanta, New Mexico, Alberta, and Hawaii, with much of the cast consisting of those from the previous film, reprising their original roles for the sequel. "Jumanji: The Next  Level" was theatrically released in the United States on December 13, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing, under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $800 million worldwide against a $125–132 million budget, becoming the tenth highest-grossing film of 2019. A sequel is in development. Plot. In 2019, two years after in "Jumanji", Spencer Gilpin, Anthony "Fridge" Johnson, Martha Kaply, and Bethany Walker plan to meet up over Christmas break to discuss their first year out of school. The night before, Spencer, feeling despondent that his life isn't as glamorous  as his friends', gets out "Jumanji". When he is late to the meet-up, his friends visit his mother's, and are greeted by Spencer's grandfather, Eddie, and Eddie's estranged friend and former business partner, Milo Walker. Fridge, Martha, and Bethany realize he has gone into the game and they follow Spencer. Eddie and Milo are also sucked into the game inadvertently while Bethany is left behind. Inside the game, Martha becomes an avatar named Ruby Roundhouse (whom she had been previously). Fridge becomes Professor Sheldon Oberon (who had been Bethany previously), while Eddie and Milo become Dr.  Smolder Bravestone and Franklin "Mouse" Finbar (who had been Spencer and Fridge respectively). After explaining Jumanji's rules to Eddie and Milo, they encounter a non-player character, Nigel Billingsley, the game guide, who reveals that "Jumanji" is suffering from a massive drought. To leave the game, they must end the drought by recovering a magical necklace known as the Falcon Heart, stolen by warlord and Bravestone’s rival, Jurgen the Brutal. Meanwhile, Bethany, still out of the game and in the real world, finds the other "Jumanji" player, Alex Vreeke, for help. Transported to a desert to pursue Jurgen , and narrowly escaping a herd of ostriches, the team encounters Spencer who has a new avatar, a skilled female thief called Ming Fleetfoot. Apologizing for their predicament, Spencer joins them. While attempting to escape the desert, they face new challenges and problems, along with collecting a Jumanji Berry and discovering a pool of glowing green water that allows them to switch avatars. However, the group struggles to adjust to the avatar changes: Fridge has trouble figuring out how Oberon is even relevant to the game, Spencer's meekness makes him unable to fully utilize Ming's skills, Milo's tendency  to 'take the scenic route' when talking makes him unable to relay vital information quickly, and Eddie's hotheaded stubbornness costs the group several lives. Meanwhile, Eddie bickers with Milo, revealing their friendship ended when Milo sold their diner behind Eddie's back, forcing him into retirement. Traveling to a forest beyond the desert, the group crosses a series of rope bridges, while being attacked by a group of mandrills. Successfully crossing the bridges, they are reunited with Alex, as his avatar Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough, and Bethany, who is now Cyclone, a black stallion who can only be understood by  Finbar. As they rest from their battle with the mandrills, Eddie realizes Milo is terminally ill and wants to make amends before he dies, which leads them to reconcile. Working together, the group traverses to Mt. Zhatmire and finds a river with the same glowing green water Fridge and Martha saw earlier, allowing Spencer, Bethany, and Fridge to return in their original avatars (Bravestone, Oberon, and Finbar respectively) again while Eddie and Milo end up as Ming and Cyclone. Shortly after, Eddie and Milo are captured by Jurgen's soldiers. Spencer, Martha, Fridge, Bethany, and Alex split up to infiltrate  the fortress, rescue their teammates and get the Falcon Heart. While scaling the ice wall, Martha asks Spencer why he left his old life and her, and he says her success made him insecure. She consoles him, reminding him that friends are needed most when we feel scared and insecure. Having successfully rescued Ming and Cyclone, the group proceed to try fooling Jurgen into giving them the Falcon Heart necklace, but are unfortunately revealed to be lying. The resulting fight allows Jurgen to escape onto his airship followed closely by Spencer. Realizing Jurgen is vulnerable to the Jumanji Berry they  collected earlier, Spencer incapacitates Jurgen, allowing him to steal the necklace. Ming and Cyclone (who is revealed to be a Pegasus) fly towards the sky, letting the sunlight touch the necklace, therefore completing the game. Returning the Falcon Heart to Nigel, Milo decides to stay behind and protect the land. Upon returning to the real world, Spencer teaches his grandfather about video games. Having gotten over his resentment, Eddie convinces Nora, the owner of his old diner, to hire him as a manager. In a mid-credits scene, a repair man is brought in Spencer's house to repair the  furnace, but notices the video game console. Shortly after, several animals stampede outside Nora's, catching the group's attention. Cast. Bebe Neuwirth appears as Nora Shepherd, reprising her role from the original 1995 film. Also featured as NPCs in "Jumanji" are Jennifer Patino as Bravestone's mother, Massi Furlan as crime boss Switchblade, Dania Ramirez as Switchblade's seductive wife, John Ross Bowie as Jurgen's butler Cavendish, and DeObia Oparei as an elevator guard. Danny DeVito's daughter, Lucy DeVito, also portrays the NPC of a maiden and Lamorne Morris plays the heater repairman. Production. Development. In February  2018, it was announced that Kasdan would direct the sequel, with Rosenberg and Pinkner again writing the script and Johnson, Hart, Black, and Gillan reprising their roles. On February 22, 2019, Black confirmed the new film as being a fourth "Jumanji" film because of "" (2005), serving as the second film and sharing continuity with the other films of the series, with "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" serving as the third film. According to Kasdan the film used the working title J-19. In July 2019, the film's title was revealed as "Jumanji: The Next Level". Casting. In January 2019, Awkwafina , Danny DeVito, and Danny Glover joined the film. In February 2019, Alex Wolff, Ser'Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Nick Jonas were announced to reprise their roles. In March 2019, Dania Ramirez joined the cast of the film. That same month, it was announced Rhys Darby would reprise his role in the film. In May 2019, it was announced Colin Hanks would reprise his role. Filming. Filming began on January 21, 2019, and took place in Atlanta, New Mexico, Calgary, Fortress Mountain Resort, Algodones Dunes in California, and Hawaii before wrapping on May 11. Johnson made a reported $ 23.5 million for his role. Release. In the United States and Canada, the film was released on December 13, 2019, in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, IMAX 3D, 4DX, and ScreenX formats. The movie was released on December 5, 2019, in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and several other Asian countries (and also in Czechia). In the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, the film premiered in cinemas on December 6, 2019. The film's Australian release date was December 26, 2019. Home media. The film was released on digital by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on March 3, 2020, and was released on  4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on March 17, 2020. Reception. Box office. "Jumanji: The Next Level" grossed $320.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $479.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $800.1 million, against a production budget of about $125–132 million. "Deadline Hollywood" calculated that the net profit of the film was $236million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside "Black Christmas" and "Richard Jewell", and was projected to gross $45–55 million from 4,227 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made  $19.7 million on its first day, including $4.7 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $59.3 million, topping the box office. It made $26.5 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind "". The following weekend the film made $35.3 million (a total of $59.2 million over the five-day Christmas period), then $26.5 million the next, remaining in second behind "The Rise of Skywalker" both times. After the COVID-19 pandemic, closed most theaters across the U.S. and Canada in March, the film continued to play at drive-ins during  the following weeks; it made $217,800 in its 24th weekend and $186,800 in its 25th weekend. The film passed the $800 million mark worldwide on July 7, 2020, thanks to drive-in grosses in the U.S. and theaters re-opening in other countries. Critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "Like many classic games, "Jumanji: The Next Level" retains core components of what came before while adding enough fresh bits to keep things playable." On Metacritic, the film  has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 3.5 out of 5 stars, with 58% saying they would definitely recommend it. Peter Debruge of "Variety" wrote: "More often than not, effects-driven blockbusters get dumber as the series goes along, but Jumanji: The Next Level invents some fun ideas to keep things fresh." Debruge calls Johnson's Danny DeVito impression "unintentionally hilarious", and  is mildly critical of some of the off color jokes, but concludes "The storytelling may be sloppy in parts, but the cast’s collective charisma more than compensates." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" is positive about the remixing of the characters has "major comedy benefits" and Travers welcomes the introduction of Awkwafina. He found the plot difficult to follow and not worth the effort, but says "What matters are the laughs and the FX". Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" wrote: "What gives Jumanji its likability is that it has the emphases and comedy beats of an animation, but also the  performance technique of live action – and the occasional reshuffling of avatars and players lets the actors show off a little bit further. Jumanji’s next level is rather satisfying." Sequel. Dwayne Johnson revealed in a December 2019 interview that the villain Jurgen the Brutal is actually an avatar of an unknown character, and would be explored in a potential sequel. In March 2020, Jake Kasdan confirmed early developments for a follow-up film. Kasdan confirmed plans to maintain the core cast of the previous two films. The following month, the filmmaker stated that the story for the next installment is  in development. In November 2021, producer Hiram Garcia confirmed that a pitch was developed and is ready to be presented to the studio after Kasdan finishes his work on the upcoming "Red One". The following month he reiterated plans to develop the next "Jumanji", once filming on "Red One" wraps; stating that this time-table works with the actors' busy production schedules.