LOS ANGELES: Sony?s ?Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle? handily won the first box office weekend of 2018 over the launch of ?Insidious: The Last Key? and ?Star Wars: The Last Jedi? with $36 million at 3,801 North American locations.

The fourth installment of the ?Insidious? horror franchise scared up a surprisingly strong $29.3 million at 3,116 sites for Universal. Disney-Lucasfilm?s ?The Last Jedi? followed in third with a 55% decline to $23.6 million at 4,232 venues for a 24-day total of $572.5 million -- the sixth-largest of all-time.

Fox?s third weekend of ?The Greatest Showman? held nicely in fourth, declining only 12% to $13.6 million at 3,342 theaters for a 19-day total of about $77 million. It was followed in fifth by Universal?s third session of ?Pitch Perfect 3? with $10.2 million at 3,458 sites, lifting its 17-day take to a solid $86 million.

Fox?s fourth weekend of animated comedy ?Ferdinand? finished sixth with $7.7 million at 3,156 venues, followed by Jessica Chastain?s ?Molly?s Game? from STXfilms, which brought in $7 million after expanding to 1,608 sites from 271. Chastain received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a drama for her work in the film -- whether or not she wins will be determined Sunday. The film also received a Producers Guild Award nomination on Friday for best film, a day after Aaron Sorkin?s script received a Writers Guild nom for adapted screenplay.

The ?Jumanji? sequel has taken in $244.4 million in its first 19 days domestically. It?s the first weekend box office win for ?Jumanji? -- which has gone past ?Justice League? as the ninth-largest domestic grosser among 2017 titles. ?Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle? is also topping the $500 million mark worldwide.

Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan star in ?Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,? a sequel to Robin Williams? original, which was a 1995 hit with $262 million worldwide. ?Welcome to the Jungle? follows four high schoolers in detention who wind up as video game characters facing an array of challenges.

?Insidious: The Last Key? came in far above expectations, which had been in the $16 million to $19 million range. It?s the latest horror title from Blumhouse Productions, which delivered low-cost horror hits last year for Universal with ?Split,? ?Get Out,? and ?Happy Death Day.? The franchise dates back to 2010 with ?Insidious,? followed by ?Insidious: Chapter 2? in 2013 and ?Insidious: Chapter 3? in 2015 -- which have grossed a collective $357 million worldwide.

Lin Shaye, who has starred in all three films, returns in ?Insidious: The Last Key? as a parapsychologist whose haunted childhood comes to threaten her family and home in a follow-up to the events in ?Insidious: Chapter 3.? It?s produced by ?Insidious? regulars Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and co-creator James Wan and by Sony Pictures (through Stage 6 Films) with Blumhouse. Universal is the U.S. theatrical distributor with Sony releasing in the rest of the world.

Overall domestic business was up 18.1% to $165 million, according to comScore -- a welcome sign after 2017 saw a 2.3% decline in total grosses.

?2018 is off to a rollicking start with ?Jumanji?s? unexpected strength boosting the overall marketplace nearly 20% ahead of the comparable weekend a year ago as the box office new year gives the industry cause to celebrate with an incredibly diverse lineup of titles driving patrons to theaters and a red hot awards season in full swing,? noted Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore. ?Two years ago was not even as strong with a ?Force Awakens? driven marketplace ringing up sales of $159.1 million for the same weekend in 2016.?