It stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Rhys Darby 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.

In 1996, Brantford, New Hampshire, teenager Alex Vreeke receives Jumanji, which was previously disposed of by Alan Parrish and Sarah Whittle in 1969,[a] from his father, who found it on the coast.

Opting to play, he is sucked inside the game, disappearing from the real world as time continues to pass, thus leaving the Vreeke family's house in a disheveled state.

Twenty years later, four Brantford High School students – awkward Spencer Gilpin, athletic Anthony "Fridge" Johnson, ditzy Bethany Walker, and cynical Martha Kaply are given detention; Fridge and Spencer for having been caught cheating on their assignments, Bethany for making a video call during a quiz, and Martha for disrespecting the gym teacher.

Upon finding Alex’s discarded video game system and starting it up, the group is sucked into Jumanji, landing in a jungle as their chosen avatars – Spencer as muscular archaeologist Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone, Fridge as diminutive zoologist Franklin "Mouse" Finbar, Bethany as a male, overweight cartographer and paleontologist Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon, and Martha as a sultry martial arts expert Ruby Roundhouse.

The group's goal is to end a curse on Jumanji, brought about by a corrupt archaeologist, Professor Van Pelt[b] after he stole a magical jewel called the "Jaguar's Eye" and gained control of the jungle's animals.

Back in the present, the group finds the Vreeke home restored and lively, compared its previous state after Alex's disappearance.

The four students form an unlikely friendship after their experiences in the game, having bonded and become better people, including Spencer and Martha beginning a relationship.

Additionally, Marin Hinkle, Tracey Bonner, and Natasha Charles Packer play the mothers of Spencer, Fridge, and Bethany respectively.

[12] Several other directors and writers came and went on the project, including Steve Oedekerk, Adam Rifkin, David S. Ward, Don Rhymer, and the original author Chris Van Allsburg.

[18] Online reception to the news was negative, with some saying that the announcement came too soon after the death of Robin Williams in August 2014 (who played Alan Parrish in the original film).

[21][22] Scott Rosenberg was hired in October 2015 to rewrite the script for the film, whose production was a high priority for the studio.

[23] Jake Kasdan was hired to direct the film the following year in January from a script by Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner based on a draft by original writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.

Its plot involved teenagers cleaning out a school's basement, who find a vintage video-game version of Jumanji and are sucked into the first film's jungle setting.

[27] Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart were in early talks in April 2016 to star in the film (although both actors had other projects at the time).

Two days later, Rhys Darby was cast as Nigel Billingsley, Morgan Turner as Martha Kaply, and Alex Wolff as Spencer Gilpin.

[citation needed] The visual effects are provided by Iloura and Supervised by Glenn Melenhorst with help from Moving Picture Company, Ollin VFX and Rodeo FX.

[2] Amazon Prime members in the United States could access to tickets for a December 8 screening of the film at select Regal, National Amusements, ArcLight Cinemas and AMC theaters.

Deadline Hollywood calculated its net profit as $305.7 million when factoring all expenses and revenues, making it 2017's fourth-most-profitable release.

[56] The 38.4 percent weekend-to-weekend increase was the fourth-largest for a film playing in over 3,000 theaters; The Greatest Showman set the record for best hold the same weekend.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle uses a charming cast and a humorous twist to offer an undemanding yet solidly entertaining update on its source material.

[4] Dave White of TheWrap praised the cast and called the film a pleasant surprise: "Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle is the Christmas tentpole release that aims to please and succeeds, a funny family entertainment product that subverts more expectations than it was obligated to contractually".

[67] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone writes "enough star power and comic zest to deliver a fun time at the movies ... barely" and praises the cast, particularly Jack Black as hilarious and for finding the "vulnerable heart" of the character.

[69] David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a C grade, calling it unnecessary, but mildly amusing: "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is further proof that even the stalest whiff of brand recognition has become preferable to originality.

[86][87][88][89] Kasdan returned to direct the sequel, with Rosenberg and Pinkner again writing the script and Johnson, Hart, Black, Gillan and Jonas reprising their roles.