Dwayne Johnsoncould have a major 2026 thanks to some high-profile releases, including one that belongs to one of his strongest franchises. However, while the previous installments have been box office successes,the next movie has a tricky release date.
Since transitioning to acting in 2001 withThe Mummy Returns,Johnson has become one of the biggest starsin Hollywood by leading a number of high-profile blockbusters. He’s appeared in franchises likeG.I. Joe,Fast & Furious,and the DC Extended Universe, albeit briefly on the last one.
A busy actor, Johnson often has multiple releases scheduled every year. Just last year, he returned to voice the demigod Maui in Disney’s smash hitMoana 2, and he attempted to kick off a new holiday action franchise withRed One.2026 will be no different, with the actor first playing Maui in July’s live-actionMoana.
Jumanji 4 Finally Brings Back One Of The Rock’s Biggest Box Office Successes
This Is A Crowd-Pleasing Franchise That Has Raked In Over $2 Billion
AfterMoana, Johnson’s 2026 will see thelong-awaited release ofJumanji 4. The last movie in the franchise,Jumanji: The Next Level, was released in 2019, and talk of a follow-up began soon after. The fourth movie got stuck in development following the COVID-19 pandemic, butSony eventually dated it for July 11, 2025.
Jumanji 4is a pivotal release for Johnson. While he’s still enjoyed a few hits in recent years, such as the aforementionedMoana 2,his overall success rate has been mixed. His DC launchpad,Black Adam,crumbled under disappointing reviews and box office numbers, andRed Onewas slammed with a poor critical response.
The next year could change his outlook considerably. In addition to the live-actionMoana, which stands as a likely hit, Johnson could end up courtingawards attention with his late 2025 releaseThe Smashing Machine.A successful return to theJumanjifranchise would only make everything better.
$404.5 million
$961.6 million
77%
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$316.8 million
$792.5 million
72%
The last two movies were crowd-pleasing box office hits,grossing a combined $1.8 billion worldwide. That number grows to $2 billion when factoring in the originalJumanjiand 2005 spinoffZathura. Assuming the creative team keeps the same spirit alive for the fourth movie, it too can become a huge win for Johnson.
Jumanji 4’s Release Date Has A Major Threat To Its Success
The Rock Might Not Be A Match For The Avengers Or Lisan Al Giab
Unfortunately, while December release dates have been kind to thepreviousJumanjimovies, next year promises to be a more difficult venture. Currently,Jumanji 4is slated to premiereonly one week before bothAvengers: Doomsdayand Denis Villeneuve’sDune: Part Threeon December 18.
Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t quite the heavy-hitter it once was,Doomsdayis being positioned as its biggest release since 2019’sAvengers: Endgameand will reunite numerous big-name characters, including The Fantastic Four and X-Men. Beyond that,theDunefranchise has only gotten biggerwith each passing year.
Jumanji 4would likely be aided by the holiday frame, butgoing up against two bigger event pictures would threaten its box officestanding substantially, especially due to the larger gap between installments. Since filming hasn’t yet begun, it likely can’t move any earlier, though that would also be difficult because of other 2026 releases.
Other movies scheduled for late 2026 include DC’sClayface,Practical Magic 2,The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender,The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and Jordan Peele’s next movie.
Right now,Jumanji 4’s best bet is to shift to 2027 entirely. This might happen anyway due to the lack of production updates, but it wouldgive Johnson and the rest of the creative team time to make a solid, enjoyable sequelwithout the threat of heavy competition. This franchise is a fun one that deserves a worthy return, not getting trampled by other movies.
