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. A fifth film titled Jumanji: Open World, is set to be released on December 25, 2026. 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 Joe Johnston Jim Strain, Greg Taylor & Jonathan Hensleigh Jim Strain, Greg Taylor & Chris Van Allsburg Scott Kroopf and William Teitler Zathura: A Space Adventure Jon Favreau John Kamps & David Koepp Scott Kroopf, William Teitler and Michael De Luca Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Jake Kasdan Erik Sommers, Jeff Pinkner,Chris McKenna & Scott Rosenberg Chris McKenna Matt Tolmach and William Teitler Jumanji: The Next Level Jake Kasdan, Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg Matt Tolmach, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Jake Kasdan Jumanji: Open World
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.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Twenty-two years after the events of the original film, after being ignored for more modern entertainment, the board game magically becomes 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 direct 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.
Jumanji: Open World (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.
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 was in development. It was later reported that the follow-up film was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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). In March 2023, cast member Kevin Hart indicated that the film currently in development would be the final film in the series. In October 2024, the movie was given a release date. Marketing commenced for the project with a promotional poster release at the 2025 CinemaCon. By November 2024, Kasdan expressed interest in having Kirsten Dunst and Bonnie Hunt reprise their roles from the original film.
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.
Jumanji: Open World was scheduled to be released theatrically on December 11, 2026. On March 24, 2026, the release date was delayed by two weeks to its current release date of December 25, 2026.
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
Character Films Television Video games Jumanji Zathura: Jumanji: Jumanji: Jumanji: Jumanji Jumanji: The Video Game Jumanji: Wild Adventures Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Alan Parrish III Robin Williams colspan="2" Bill Fagerbakke Bill Fagerbakke colspan="2" Judith "Judy" Shepherd Kirsten Dunst colspan="4" Debi Derryberry colspan="2" Peter Shepherd Bradley Pierce colspan="4" Ashley Johnson Ashley Johnson colspan="2" Sarah Whittle Bonnie Hunt colspan="7" Professor Van Pelt Jonathan Hyde Bobby Cannavale colspan="2" Sherman Howard colspan="2" Nora Shepherd Bebe Neuwirth colspan="2" Bebe Neuwirth Bebe Neuwirth Melanie Chartoff colspan="2" Walter Budwing Josh Hutcherson colspan="8" Daniel "Danny" Budwing Jonah Bobo colspan="8" Lisa Budwing Kristen Stewart colspan="8" Mr. Budwing Tim Robbins colspan="8" the Robot Frank Oz colspan="8" Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone colspan="2" Dwayne Johnson colspan="3" Andrew Morgado Franklin "Mouse" Finbar colspan="2" Kevin Hart colspan="3" Phil LaMarr Dempsey Pappion Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon colspan="2" Jack Black colspan="3" Mick Wingert Ruby Roundhouse colspan="2" Karen Gillan colspan="3" Anna Graves Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough colspan="2" Nick Jonas colspan="6" Spencer Gilpin colspan="2" Alex Wolff colspan="6" Anthony "Fridge" Johnson colspan="2" Ser'Darius Blain colspan="6" Bethany Walker colspan="2" Madison Iseman colspan="6" Martha Kaply colspan="2" Morgan Turner colspan="6" Dr. Xander "Smolder" Bravestone colspan="3" colspan="6" Alexander "Alex" Vreeke colspan="2" Colin Hanks Colin Hanks colspan="6" Eddie Gilpin colspan="3" Danny DeVito colspan="6" Milo Walker colspan="3" Danny Glover colspan="6" Ming Fleetfoot colspan="3" Awkwafina colspan="5" Jurgen the Brutal colspan="3" Rory McCann colspan="7" Heater Repair Man colspan="3" Lamorne Morris Lamorne Morris colspan="5" Carl Bentley David Alan Grier colspan="4" Richard Allen colspan="2" Samuel "Sam" Parrish Jonathan Hyde colspan="10" Carol Parrish Patricia Clarkson colspan="10" Exterminator James Handy colspan="10" Nigel Billingsley colspan="2" Rhys Darby colspan="3" Rhys Darby Janice Gilpin colspan="2" Marin Hinkle colspan="6" Principal Bentley colspan="2" Marc Evan Jackson colspan="8" Mr. Vreeke colspan="2" Tim MathesonSean Buxton colspan="8" Bethany Vreeke colspan="2" Madison Johnson colspan="7"
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: John Debney Guillermo Navarro Dan Lebental 101 minutes Jumanji: Welcome to Henry Jackman Gyula Pados 119 minutes Jumanji: 123 minutes Jumanji: Ben Davis Mark Helfrich TBA
Reception Box office performance Film Release date Box office gross Budget North America Otherterritories Worldwide Jumanji December 15, 1995 $100,499,940 $162,322,000 $262,821,940 $65 million Zathura: A Space Adventure November 11, 2005 $29,258,869 $35,820,235 $65,079,104 $65 million Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle December 20, 2017 $404,540,171 $558,002,774 $962,542,945 $90 million Jumanji: The Next Level December 13, 2019 $320,314,960 $481,378,969 $801,693,929 $125 million Total $ $ $ $338 million
Critical and public response
Film Critical Public Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore PostTrak Jumanji 41 (19 reviews) A− Zathura: A Space Adventure 67 (30 reviews) B+ Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 58 (44 reviews) A− 84% Jumanji: The Next Level 72% (249 reviews) 58 (37 reviews) A−
Music
+Soundtracks to Jumanji films Title U.S. release date Length Composer(s) Label Jumanji: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 51:04 James Horner Epic Soundtrax Zathura: A Space Adventure (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 44:16 John Debney Varèse Sarabande Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 60:00 Henry Jackman Sony Masterworks Jumanji: The Next Level (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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. The game was removed from Google Play and App Store on May 2, 2018, and became unplayable on May 24.