Jumanji, starring Robin Williams, was a box office success and a peak ’90s film.
The adventure film, released in 1995, blended fantasy, suspense and emotional storytelling, all centered around a mysterious board game that brings dangers to life.
It followed Williams’ Alan Parrish, who became trapped inside the magical game as a young boy in 1969. When he’s released into the modern world decades later, he’s tasked with finishing what he started alongside two new children, who unwillingly restarted the game.
Each roll of the dice unleashes chaos that extends to the real-world, with stampedes of wild animals and jungle forces such as flash floods and carnivorous plants, invading the town and the old mansion where Judy Shephard (played by a young Kirsten Dunst) and her brother, Peter Shepard (Bradly Pierce), just moved in.
It also reunites Parish with his original game partner, Sarah Whittle, brought to life by Bonnie Hunt, who has been haunted by his bizarre disappearance for 26 years.
Jumanji’s popularity remains just as strong three decades later, with Collider ranking it among the “Best Adventure Movies of All Time,” while The Every Mom praised the nostalgia-driven film among “’90s Kids Movies We Still Love in 2026.”
ScreenRant even ranked it in the No. 3 spot on the “10 Greatest Kids Movies Set In The 90s” list, making it the perfect family movie night watch, especially as it’s currently available to stream on Netflix.
With a series of mystical quests to end the game for good and make it out alive (while also escaping from the big-game hunter), it makes for the perfect PG film to kick off the spooky fall celebrations.
Jumanji’s popularity was instant, as it opened at No. 1 at the U.S box office in its debut weekend, overtaking Toy Story, marking a strong commercial success, especially for a mid-90s fantasy film. It went on to become the tenth highest-grossing film of 1995.
It became a blockbuster favorite with success on home video and TV reruns, which helped justify the modern franchise expansion decades later.
In 2017 and 2019, two modern sequels were released, with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level.
The former, starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan, was a direct sequel that updated the concept by turning the board game into a video game console. The latter found the same group returning to rescue a friend.
The fifth and final installment, Jumanji: Open World, is scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas Day 2026, bringing the video game chaos into the real world as the avatars get stuck in “demo mode.”
But if you’re wondering about the second installment in the franchise, it exists as a lesser-known film that doesn’t boast the Jumanji name at all.
The 2005 space-themed standalone spinoff, or “spiritual successor,” Zathura: A Space Adventure, is inspired by Jumanji, replacing the jungle board game with a cosmic space version.
It was directed by Star Wars‘ Jon Favreau and based on a story by Chris Van Allsburg—who also wrote the original Jumanji book in 1981—which was released as a printed sequel in 2002.
Two brothers, Danny and Walter (Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson, respectively), play the game before their house is shot into space. Also starring Dax Shepard and Kristen Stewart (before the Twilight fame), it was considered a box office disappointment, opening at No. 2, as it did not recoup profits in theaters, facing intense competition from Chicken Little, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Chronicles of Narnia.
The film also caused some confusion among viewers as it is set in the same fictional universe of Jumanji but does not reference the game or the original film in the plot.
Despite its lackluster box office performance, breaking even at $65 million, compared to Jumanji’s $235 million a decade prior, Zathura gained a cult following on home video and streaming—currently also available to stream on Netflix.
The companion film reimagined the concept in a different setting while keeping the idea of a game that comes to life, further cementing it as a lasting pop culture concept and paving the way for future spinoffs.
As for Jumanji, it remains a standout family must-watch decades later.
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