5. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Premise: Five unlikely young friends find themselves sucked into a video game, where they are represented by a set of larger-than-life avatars. Using the range of new skills at their disposal, they must beat the game in order to survive.
1995’s Jumanji was based loosely on a children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, and this 2017 sequel took the original premise and ran with it.
Turning the infamously dangerous board game into a retro video game console was something of a stroke of genius. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle suddenly appealed to not only fans of the original movie, but a whole younger generation of moviegoers, too. By making the game electronic, Welcome to the Jungle not only refreshed a classic film and made it more relevant to modern audiences, but it serves to demonstrate that the game itself is capable of evolving.
With Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Jack Black starring, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ensured it had enough star power to draw even more of an audience, and it was a massive financial and critical success. Black and Hart ensured there was plenty of comedy, and Johnson and Gillan handled the impressive action sequences. As a result, Welcome to the Jungle had something to offer for fans of every genre, all while remaining mostly family-friendly.
Verdict: A surprisingly fresh take on a popular movie (that was in turn based on a book), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was able to tap into practically every demographic out there.