Jurassic World Breaks All Kinds of Box Office Records


Over twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg redefined what it meant to be a blockbuster hit with Jurassic Park. In 1993, it was the first film ever to rake in over $50M in its first weekend.

Well now the fourth entry in the Jurassic series, ‘Jurassic World’, has done it again. And this time it breaks all sorts of Box Office records. Not only is it the highest performing June opening of all time, but it also eclipsed 2012’s Avengers domestic takeaway, broke the international opening weekend record held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, and is the first film to ever gross over $500M globally in one weekend. And for a film that only cost Universal roughly $150M to produce, it’s safe to say the film is off to a great start. Let’s break it down.

Initial estimates are funny. A few months back I read several articles predicting Jurassic World to be the biggest flop of the season. And even initial Box Office estimates were way off. Analysts predicted between $125M and $135M for Jurassic World, which would have pushed it right up to Man of Steel’s record-holding June opening of $128.7M debut. It’s now clear Jurassic World has nearly doubled that record with a staggering domestic (U.S.) bow of $208.8M.

That’s right. A $208.8M U.S. haul for Jurassic World, topping even the reigning champ, Marvel’s 2012 hulk ‘The Avengers’ ($207.4M). Yesterday, Universal’s initial estimates for the weekend were a reserved $204.6M for the Dino-flick, but it appears it did better than expected on Sunday. This is staggering, considering some of its competition, which included Game 5 of the NBA Finals and HBO’s season 5 finale of Game of Thrones.

Overseas the film also broke some records. With $315.3M internationally, it’s actually dethroned Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow, Part 2’s impressive $314M.

That makes its worldwide opening weekend takeaway some $524.1M! This leaps and bounds over Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2’s global opening record of $483.2M.

So what does this mean for the franchise? This most certainly won’t be the last Jurassic Park film we’ll see. Expect this to spawn its own series of sequels. Why did it have such an impact on the Box Office? Nostalgia for the original film amongst older viewers, and enthusiasm from a newer generation. And likely it’s the nostalgia factor that helped enthuse the new demographic, and vice versa. Truly, word of mouth did this film wonders. That, and the popularity of Thursday night showings, as opposed to midnight releases. My wife thinks it all comes down to the Pratt factor.

My review will be forthcoming soon.

10 thoughts on “Jurassic World Breaks All Kinds of Box Office Records

  1. The movie was awesome. The beginning is a little “meh” (that’s my professional review) but everything else was great. The two hours flew by and that ending … Our theater was clapping with a couple of hoots thrown in. My family is going back to watch it again this weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. It might be doing well BECAUSE they didn’t screen test it.

    The problem with screen tests is… studios sometimes give too much credence to what that small sample size says… and makes changes that, ultimately, doesn’t work for the larger audience. Also, inevitably word gets out from the test audience.. so a movie with no test audience means more people go see it before they have time to hear good or bad things about it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think that’s totally it. There were no bad reviews holding people back. Instead, word of mouth, nostalgia, and the Pratt Factor had people lining up at the theaters.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I was shocked this actually got good reviews (I haven’t seen it yet) since they didn’t even screen test the movie at all. Super weird, looks like it worked out for them.

    Like

  4. I liked the first movie okay, not a huge fan or anything. But as soon as I learned Chris Pratt was going to be in it…well, that was the push for me to go see it opening weekend! Never underestimate what a beloved actor can do for a film!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I really want to watch this! I loved the Jurassic Park movies when I was a child and I loved Chris Pratt in Guardians of the Galaxy.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Universal made the right choices with Jurassic World. Casting Chris Pratt, giving him an old motorbike and an army or velociraptors. Plus, there are the young characters to bring the new generation into an old franchise, as well as making it not just a revisiting of Jurassic Park, but making about a theme park that looks like the kind of place in summer, regardless of dinosaurs. There’s a potential comparison to Tomorrowland there, but the marketing made it look more appealing. Even I want to see this.

    Liked by 1 person

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