Jumanji is an American media franchise, based on the children's book Jumanji (1981) and its sequel Zathura (2002), written by Chris Van Allsburg. The first film was produced by TriStar Pictures, and subsequent films by Columbia Pictures, both subsidiaries of Sony Pictures. The franchise follows the adventures of various people who find themselves imperiled when playing an enchanted game that comes with a variety of dangerous jungle elements that the players must survive as they play. Ultimately, the only way to end the disruptions is to finish the game while enduring its dangers.
The franchise includes the films Jumanji (1995), Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and an animated television series which aired from 1996 to 1999. An untitled sequel to Jumanji: The Next Level has been announced as releasing on December 11, 2026.[1] The first film received mixed reviews from critics, while the three follow-up films received positive critical response. The films have grossed $2 billion collectively at the global box office.
Origin
Jumanji (1981)
Two children, Peter and Judy, find and play a game in which each roll of the dice brings the jungle from the game (as well as the creatures that live in it) to life around them. In order to reset the world around them, they must finish the game and make it to the titular city of gold. Afterward, they get rid of the game which is found by their next-door neighbors, two young brothers.
Zathura (2002)
Brothers Danny and Walter, neighbors of Peter and Judy from the previous book, find Jumanji but ultimately choose not to play it. Instead, they find a similar game on the same board with a space theme, Zathura, which they begin to play. As with Jumanji, playing Zathura brings elements of the game into reality, and in order to set everything back to normal, the boys must complete the game.
Films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriters | Story by | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumanji | December 15, 1995 | Joe Johnston | Jim Strain, Greg Taylor & Jonathan Hensleigh | Jim Strain, Greg Taylor & Chris Van Allsburg | Scott Kroopf and William Teitler |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure | November 11, 2005 | Jon Favreau | John Kamps & David Koepp | Scott Kroopf, William Teitler and Michael De Luca | |
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | December 20, 2017 | Jake Kasdan[2] | Erik Sommers, Jeff Pinkner, Chris McKenna & Scott Rosenberg |
Chris McKenna | Matt Tolmach and William Teitler |
| Jumanji: The Next Level | December 13, 2019 | Jake Kasdan, Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg | Matt Tolmach, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Jake Kasdan | ||
| Untitled 5th film | December 11, 2026[1] | Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg | Jake Kasdan | ||
Jumanji (1995)
Two children find and play a magical board game. In doing so, they release a man trapped for decades in the game and a host of dangers from the jungle that can only be stopped by finishing the game.
Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)
Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is hurled through the depths of space by the magical board game they are playing. Furthermore, the brothers surmise the only way to return home is to finish the game.
Though there are no direct references to Jumanji in Zathura: A Space Adventure and the movie's plot is self-contained, the studio marketed it as being set within the same fictional universe, and is thematically similar to the other franchise installments. The film is based on the children's book Zathura, also written by Van Allsburg, which was a sequel to the Jumanji novel. Despite the film's placement within the same fictional universe, director Jon Favreau discourages the notion that the film is a direct sequel, having not particularly liked Jumanji.[3]
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Twenty-two years after the events of the original film, the board game has magically become a video game. Four high school teenagers are transported to the game's jungle setting and become the avatars of the characters they chose, and later discover another victim trapped in the game as well. The only way out is to complete the game and in doing so, they each discover the best of themselves and win with a newfound heroism to see the challenge through. The film served as a sequel to the 1995 film.
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
The team of friends return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own but discover that nothing is as they expect. The players need to brave parts unknown, from arid deserts to snowy mountains, in order to escape the world's most dangerous game.
Untitled Jumanji: The Next Level sequel (2026)
In December 2019, Dwayne Johnson revealed that the next installment in the franchise would reveal that the villain from The Next Level, Jurgen the Brutal, was an avatar in the game and that the identity of the player controlling him would be explored.[4]
In March 2020, Jake Kasdan confirmed early developments for a follow-up film.[5][6] Kasdan confirmed plans to maintain the core cast of the previous two films.[7] The following month, the filmmaker stated that the story for the next installment was in development.[8] It was later reported that the follow-up film was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] In October 2022, producer Hiram Garcia stated that Kasdan would prioritize the next Jumanji movie, following the completion of his directorial responsibilities on Red One (2024).[10] In March 2023, cast member Kevin Hart indicated that the film currently in development would be the final film in the series.[11] In October 2024, the movie was given a release date.[12][13] Marketing commenced for the project with a promotional poster release at the 2025 CinemaCon.[14] By November of the same year, Kasdan expressed interest in having Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt reprise their roles from the original film.[15]
In October 2025, it was announced that Brittany O'Grady and Burn Gorman had joined the cast; with principal photography scheduled to commence the following month.[16]
The untitled Jumanji: The Next Level sequel is scheduled to be released theatrically on December 11, 2026.[12]
Television
Jumanji (1996–1999)
Jumanji was an animated television series inspired by the 1995 film which ran for three seasons from 1996 to 1999.
Main cast and characters
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the franchise.
- An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- O indicates an older version of the character.
- V indicates a voice-only role.
- Y indicates a younger version of the character.
- A indicates a video game avatar of the character.
| Character | Films | Television | Video games | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumanji | Zathura: A Space Adventure |
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle |
Jumanji: The Next Level |
Untitled film | Jumanji | Jumanji: The Video Game | Jumanji: Wild Adventures | ||||
| Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | |||||||||
| Alan Parrish III | Robin Williams Adam Hann-ByrdY |
Mentioned | Bill FagerbakkeV | Bill FagerbakkeV Justin Jon RossVY |
|||||||
| Judith "Judy" Shepherd | Kirsten Dunst | Debi DerryberryV | |||||||||
| Peter Shepherd | Bradley Pierce | Ashley JohnsonV | Ashley JohnsonV Cam ClarkeOV |
||||||||
| Sarah Whittle | Bonnie Hunt Laura Bell BundyY |
Mentioned | |||||||||
| Professor Van Pelt[a] | Jonathan Hyde | Bobby Cannavale | Sherman HowardV | ||||||||
| Walter Budwing The Astronaut |
Josh Hutcherson Dax ShepardO |
||||||||||
| Daniel "Danny" Budwing | Jonah Bobo | ||||||||||
| Lisa Budwing | Kristen Stewart | ||||||||||
| Mr. Budwing | Tim Robbins | ||||||||||
| the Robot | Frank OzV | ||||||||||
| Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone | Dwayne JohnsonA | Dwayne JohnsonA Zachary TzegaegbeAY |
Dwayne JohnsonA | Andrew Morgado | |||||||
| Franklin "Mouse" Finbar | Kevin HartA | Phil LaMarr | Dempsey Pappion | ||||||||
| Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon | Jack BlackA | Mick Wingert | |||||||||
| Ruby Roundhouse "Killer of Men" |
Karen GillanA | Anna Graves | |||||||||
| Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough | Nick JonasA | ||||||||||
| Spencer Gilpin | Alex Wolff | ||||||||||
| Anthony "Fridge" Johnson | Ser'Darius Blain | ||||||||||
| Bethany Walker | Madison Iseman | ||||||||||
| Martha Kaply | Morgan Turner | ||||||||||
| Alexander "Alex" Vreeke | Colin Hanks Mason GussioneY |
Colin Hanks | |||||||||
| Eddie Gilpin | Danny DeVito | ||||||||||
| Milo Walker | Danny Glover | ||||||||||
| Ming Fleetfoot | AwkwafinaA | ||||||||||
| Jurgen the Brutal | Rory McCann | ||||||||||
| Nora Shepherd | Bebe Neuwirth | Bebe NeuwirthC | Bebe Neuwirth | Melanie ChartoffV | |||||||
| Heater Repair Man | Lamorne Morris | ||||||||||
| Carl Bentley | David Alan Grier | Richard AllenV | |||||||||
| Samuel "Sam" Parrish | Jonathan Hyde | ||||||||||
| Carol Parrish | Patricia Clarkson | ||||||||||
| Exterminator | James Handy | ||||||||||
| Nigel Billingsley | Rhys Darby | Rhys Darby | |||||||||
| Janice Gilpin | Marin Hinkle | ||||||||||
| Principal Bentley | Marc Evan Jackson | ||||||||||
| Mr. Vreeke | Tim Matheson Sean BuxtonY |
||||||||||
| Bethany Vreeke | Uncredited actress | Madison Johnson | |||||||||
Additional crew and production details
| Film | Crew/detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributor(s) | Running time | ||
| Jumanji | James Horner | Thomas E. Ackerman | Robert Dalva |
|
Sony Pictures Releasing | 104 minutes | |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure | John Debney | Guillermo Navarro | Dan Lebental |
|
101 minutes | ||
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | Henry Jackman | Gyula Pados |
|
119 minutes | |||
| Jumanji: The Next Level |
|
|
123 minutes | ||||
Reception
Box office performance
| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Budget | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories |
Worldwide | ||||
| Jumanji | December 15, 1995 | $100,499,940 | $162,322,000 | $262,821,940 | $65 million | [17] |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure | November 11, 2005 | $29,258,869 | $35,820,235 | $65,079,104 | $65 million | [18] |
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | December 20, 2017 | $404,540,171 | $558,002,774 | $962,542,945 | $90 million | [19] |
| Jumanji: The Next Level | December 13, 2019 | $320,314,960 | $481,378,969 | $801,693,929 | $125 million | [20] |
| Total | $853,498,980 | $1,270,320,150 | $2,124,934,090 | $338 million | ||
Critical and public response
| Film | Critical | Public | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | PostTrak | |
| Jumanji | 55% (51 reviews)[21] | 41 (19 reviews)[22] | A−[23] | N/a |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure | 77% (159 reviews)[24] | 67 (30 reviews)[25] | B+[23] | N/a |
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | 77% (235 reviews)[26] | 58 (44 reviews)[27] | A−[28] | 84%[28] |
| Jumanji: The Next Level | 72% (249 reviews)[29] | 58 (37 reviews)[30] | A−[31] | N/a |
Music
| Title | U.S. release date | Length | Composer(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumanji: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | November 21, 1995 | 51:04 | James Horner | Epic Soundtrax |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | November 22, 2005 | 44:16 | John Debney | Varèse Sarabande |
| Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | December 15, 2017 | 60:00 | Henry Jackman | Sony Masterworks |
| Jumanji: The Next Level (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | December 6, 2019 | 61:27 | Sony Classical |
Video games
- Jumanji: A Jungle Adventure Game Pack (1996)
- Jumanji: A Jungle Adventure is a video game released exclusively in North America for Microsoft Windows on October 9, 1996.[32] It was developed by Studio Interactive and published by Philips Interactive Media. It contains five different action-arcade-based minigames that are based on popular scenes from the film.[33]
- Zathura (2005)
- Zathura is an action-adventure video game developed by High Voltage Software and published by 2K Games. It was released on November 3, 2005, for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.[34]
- Jumanji (2006)
- Jumanji is a party video game released exclusively in Europe for the PlayStation 2 on 2006, developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment and published by Blast! Entertainment.[35]
- Jumanji (2007)
- Fujishoji released a Pachinko game in 2007, using clips from the film and also 3D rendered CGI anime character designs for the game as part of the screen interaction.[36]
- Jumanji: The Mobile Game (2017)
- Jumanji: The Mobile Game was a mobile game based on the 2017 film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle developed by Idiocracy Games and published by NHN Entertainment, and released for Android and iOS on December 14, 2017.[37][38] The game was removed from Google Play and App Store on May 2, 2018, and became unplayable on May 24.[39]
- Jumanji: The VR Adventure (2018)
- Jumanji: The VR Adventure was a virtual reality experience based on the 2017 film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Developed by MWM Immersive and published by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality, it was released on Steam for HTC Vive on January 17, 2018.[40] Although it was announced that the experience would be released on Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR,[41] the releases were canceled, as the game was heavily criticized for its poor graphics and hardware performance.[42] It was delisted from Steam on February 9, 2018.[40]
- Jumanji: The Video Game (2019)
- Jumanji: The Video Game is an action-adventure video game developed by Funsolve and published by Outright Games. Based on Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level, it was released on November 8, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.[43] It was later released for PlayStation 5 on October 22, 2021.
- Jumanji: Wild Adventures (2023)
- Jumanji: Wild Adventures is an action-adventure video game developed by Cradle Games and published by Outright Games. It was released on November 3, 2023 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X, and Series S.
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