Star Wars 8 Last Jedi facing surprise box office competition from THIS movie

The LucasFilm smash is well en route to crossing the $1 billion mark, en route to becoming one of the Top 10 highest-grossing films of all time.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Last Jedi should cross $504 million in the US alone before New Year’s Eve – just in time to eclipse Beauty and the Beast as the country’s top earner.

But in terms of this weekend and this weekend alone, what’s giving it a run for its money as studios battle to reach family audiences is Jumanji.

The reboot has achieved better-than-expected word of mouth from both audiences and critics, and could actually come out on top this weekend.

THR claims it made $17.8 million yesterday, only narrowly behind The Last Jedi’s $19 million.

Could it beat the Star Wars sequel by the weekend’s end?

Star Wars bosses needn’t be worried, however: The Last Jedi is pacing comfortably higher than last year’s Rogue One, which ended its box office run on $1.05 billion.

It won’t come anywhere close to The Force Awakens’ $2 billion-plus overall haul, but – given that Episode 7 was the first Star Wars release in over a decade – it was never expected to.

The Last Jedi will be followed by Episode 9, which does not have its title as of yet.

JJ Abrams, who helmed Episode 7, is returning to direct it; while another spin-off – Solo: A Star Wars Story – is out in May 2018.

Star Wars 8 and Jumanji are both out now.