The Anaconda Reboot Proves That One Of Its Cast Members Is Box Office Gold

Sony Pictures' "Anaconda" reboot slithered into theaters over the Christmas holiday and, though it faced stiff competition from the likes of "Avatar: Fire and Ash" and "Marty Supreme," the comedic, meta creature feature managed to do quite well for itself. In doing so, it has also cemented Jack Black's status as one of modern cinema's most bankable stars.

Director Tom Gormican's "Anaconda" opened to an estimated $14.5 million domestically over the weekend, pulling in a total of $23.6 million across the full, five-day, Wednesday to Sunday stretch over X-mas. It also added another $20 million overseas, giving the movie a very respectable $43.6 million global start. That's not bad at all against a reported $45 million budget. Oddly, that's about the same cost as the original cult classic "Anaconda" from 1997.

The reboot centers on Doug (Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd), who have been best friends since they were kids. The duo has always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie, the original "Anaconda." One midlife crisis later, they finally go for it, only for an actual giant anaconda to wreak havoc on their shoestring-budget production in the Amazon. The cast also includes Thandiwie Newton ("Westworld") and Steve Zahn ("The Righteous Gemstones").

For Black, this completes an impressive commercial run dating back to 2018, with "The House With a Clock in its Walls ($131.5 million box office/$40 million budget) becoming a low-key hit that year, building off the back of 2017's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" ($962 million worldwide), which made the bulk of its money in 2018 as a December release. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though, as Black's more recent run has been nothing shy of astounding, especially by pandemic era box office standards. 2019 alone saw "Jumanji: The Next Level" pull in $798.2 million.

Then the pandemic hit, and the industry, as a whole, suffered a lot of uncertainty and diminished returns. Black, however, hit a stride.

The actor's recent output includes "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" ($1.36 billion), "Kung Fu Panda 4" ($548 million), and "A Minecraft Movie" ($958.1 million). Now, he can add "Anaconda" to that growing list of hits, at least assuming that the movie doesn't fall off a cliff in the coming weeks. Either way, the reboot was met with a mixed response from critics, yet moviegoers didn't mind. Black's track record proves that audiences care about him and will show up to see a movie because he's in it.

Granted, there have been misfires along the way. "Borderlands" was one of the biggest bombs in recent memory ($33 million worldwide/$115 million budget), but that could hardly be placed on Black's shoulders. "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" ($93 million worldwide/$35 million budget) could also be viewed as a slight disappointment, but Sony was hesitant to confirm that Black was even in that film — and it was far from a flop.

Indeed, the hits far outnumber the misses and extend back decades at this point. Prior to 2010, Black had "School of Rock," "Ice Age," "King Kong," and "The Holiday" to his name, among others. Similarly, the "Kung Fu Panda" movies have made well over $2 billion by now. His star power has only grown as time's gone on, as opposed to fading.

In total, Black's generated $10.7 billion at the box office. And while he can't compete with Scarlett Johansson as the highest-grossing actor ever, Black's as bankable as they come. He's never needed Marvel. Multiple franchises have benefited greatly from his presence.

"Anaconda" is in theaters now.