Jumanji: Open World hits theaters on December 25, 2026, and based on the July trailer and the track record of the previous two movies, it is shaping up to be the exact same brand of loud, chaotic PG-13 comedy that lands right in the sweet spot for kids 10 and up.
Set to release on Christmas Day 2026, Jumanji: Open World is the fifth and final movie in the wider franchise and the direct sequel to Jumanji: The Next Level. Expect the same PG-13 mix of slapstick body-swap humor, mild profanity, and cartoon-level video game violence that worked so well in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, making it an easy holiday movie night call for families with tweens and teens. If you want something to watch while you wait for December, queue up Zathura: A Space Adventure or Free Guy.
Director Jake Kasdan and co-writers Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg are back to close out the modern trilogy, and they are borrowing the best structural trick from the 1995 original Jumanji: instead of the kids getting sucked into the console, the jungle breaks out into the real world.
According to the official trailer released by Sony in July 2026, wild animals flood the streets while the four main video game avatars—Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black), Mouse Finbar (Kevin Hart), and Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan)—manifest in the human world. The comedic hook is that the avatars are stuck in "demo mode," meaning they are malfunctioning, glitching, and wandering through restaurants with zero real-world survival skills.
To fix the game and pull the chaos back into the console, a new crew has to jump into Jumanji and inhabit the avatars: teenager Spencer (Alex Wolff), his mom Janice (Marin Hinkle), his younger brother Tyson (Jack Jewkes), and the chef Donatas (Dan Hildebrand). Returning cast members Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, Nick Jonas, Rhys Darby, Bebe Neuwirth, and Lamorne Morris round out a massive ensemble for the franchise finale.
While the official MPAA rating is still pending as of October 2026, Common Sense Media's early preview and the DNA of the Kasdan trilogy tell you what is inside: video-game-logic peril, high falls, stampeding animals, and characters getting flattened only to drop back out of the sky a second later.
In the previous two films, the comedy relies heavily on the "three lives" mechanic. Characters die in ridiculous ways—eaten by hippos, bitten by snakes, blown up by cake—and immediately respawn with a chime. For kids around 9 or 10 and up, that framing strips the teeth out of the violence and turns it into pure slapstick. Younger kids who take visual peril literally might find the charging rhinos and heights intense, while 11-year-olds will mostly be laughing at Dwayne Johnson channeling a panicked suburban mom.
Language is the other piece parents usually weigh with the modern Jumanji movies. Both Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level leaned on a steady stream of "hell," "damn," "ass," and a handful of heavier PG-13 swear words, plus plenty of anatomical jokes whenever Jack Black's avatar got used. Expect the same script habits here.
What elevates the Kasdan Jumanji movies above standard blockbuster slop is the central acting gimmick. You aren't watching The Rock play an action hero; you are watching him play an insecure kid, a cranky septuagenarian played by Danny DeVito, or—in this upcoming installment—Spencer's mom, Janice, while Spencer himself ends up in Karen Gillan's martial-arts avatar.
When you go see it over winter break, the best car-ride conversation afterward is dissecting the performances:
- Who nailed the voice best? Ask your kid which actor did the best job mimicking the real-world person trapped inside them. Watching Jack Black or Kevin Hart adopt the posture and cadence of a completely different character is a fun lesson in physical comedy.
- The "Demo Mode" comedy: With the avatars wandering the real world on autopilot before the family jumps in to control them, talk about how real video game NPCs (non-playable characters) behave—walking into walls, repeating the same three lines of dialogue, and overreacting to normal objects.
- Build your own avatar: The franchise gets a ton of mileage out of giving every character a bizarre weakness (like cake, venom, or heat). Trade ideas on what your family's video game stat cards would look like—three strengths and one ridiculous, ultra-specific weakness.
Since Jumanji: Open World doesn't drop until December 25, here is what hits the same notes right now, broken down by what your kid actually likes about the franchise. For a broader look at movie night options across every age group, check out our best movies for kids list.
The Original Chris Van Allsburg Universe
Before it was a billion-dollar vehicle for Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson, Jumanji was a slightly eerie, Caldecott-winning picture book.
- Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg & Jumanji (1995): Since Open World brings the jungle back into American suburbs, revisiting the Robin Williams original is the best prep. Note that the 1995 movie is genuinely darker and more psychologically intense than the modern comedies—the giant spiders, carnivorous plants, and the hunter Van Pelt hit harder than anything in the console era.
- Zathura: A Space Adventure: Directed by Jon Favreau and based on Van Allsburg's sequel book, this 2005 movie is the best hidden gem in the extended Jumanji universe. Two bickering brothers play a tin clockwork board game that launches their actual house into deep space. It uses real practical effects, nails the sibling dynamic, and works great for ages 8 and up.
Video Game Logic in Live-Action
If the appeal is watching characters figure out the rules, glitches, and physics of a video game from the inside:
- Free Guy: Ryan Reynolds plays a bank teller who realizes he is a background NPC in a chaotic open-world video game. Since Jumanji: Open World features avatars stuck in "demo mode," Free Guy is the sharpest companion piece on the list—funny, surprisingly sweet, and packed with gaming Easter eggs for tweens (featured across our digital guide for middle school).
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: You don't need to know a single thing about tabletop RPGs to love this movie. It shares Jumanji's exact comedic rhythm: a ragtag party with mismatched skills trying to pull off a heist while everything goes sideways.
Build a custom list of PG-13 action comedies for family movie night
Catching Up on the Prequels
If your family needs to catch up on the first two movies before heading to the theater, TV Insider notes that as of mid-2026, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is streaming on Peacock and Jumanji: The Next Level is on Hulu. If your younger elementary kid wants in on the adventure vibe without the PG-13 language, you can also browse our digital guide for elementary school for gentler picks.
Q: When does Jumanji: Open World come out?
Jumanji: Open World is scheduled to release exclusively in theaters on December 25, 2026. A streaming release date has not been announced yet, though Sony Pictures theatrical releases typically arrive on digital rental platforms first before heading to streaming a few months later.
Q: What age is Jumanji: Open World appropriate for?
While the official MPAA rating hasn't been finalized as of October 2026, it is expected to carry the same PG-13 rating as the previous two installments and fits kids around 10 and up best. The action is comedic and framed around video game rules, so the main factor for parents of 8- to 10-year-olds is whether you mind mild-to-moderate swearing and crude body-swap humor.
Q: Do we need to watch the other Jumanji movies before Jumanji: Open World?
Watching 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and 2019's Jumanji: The Next Level will make the jokes land much harder, especially since Open World picks up directly from the post-credits scene of The Next Level where animals enter the human world. You don't strictly need to watch the 1995 original to follow the plot, though the real-world invasion premise is a fun throwback to it.
Q: Is Jumanji: Open World the last Jumanji movie?
Yes, Sony Pictures and the returning cast have billed Jumanji: Open World as the fifth and final installment in the overall Jumanji franchise, wrapping up the trilogy that started in 2017.
Franchise threequels have a habit of running out of gas, but flipping the setting so the avatars are malfunctioning in the real world—and putting Spencer's mom inside Dr. Smolder Bravestone—gives this cast a fresh comedic sandbox to play in. If the first two movies worked for your family, Jumanji: Open World looks like a slam-dunk Christmas Day theater trip. To stack your watch queue between now and December, explore our best movies for kids list or put together a personalized watch list for your family.