14 DAY TRIAL // “Jurassic World” opened in theaters on Friday, June 12, and not only has it managed to revive the “Jurassic Park” classic dino franchise but it has done so in the most unexpected manner: by setting a new global record for the biggest opener of all time.
The film was expected to become a hit and one of the summer’s most popular flicks, but it actually surpassed even the most optimistic expectations for the opening weekend, making $511.8 million (€455.9 million) in just 3 days, Rotten Tomatoes reports.
“Jurassic World” opens huge, sets new record
Back home in US theaters, “Jurassic” made $204.6 million (€182.2 million), opening second only to Marvel’s first “Avengers” film, which remains the highest domestic opener of all time, with $207.4 million (€184.7 million) in ticket sales.
However, the dino pic with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as leads, also opened in 66 international markets, where it grossed another $307.2 million (€273.6 million), including early mid-week screenings. The total at the end of the opening weekend was a massive $511.8 million (€455.9 million), which makes it the highest grossing opener so far.
As Rotten Tomatoes notes, “Jurassic” was one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, together with “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and the upcoming “Star Wars” movie, “The Force Awakens.”
Even so, no industry analyst dared to dream it could ever beat anything from Marvel, especially since the franchise had been dormant for more than a decade and there was really no sign audiences were that thirsty for dinosaur adventures again.
Reviews for the film were mixed-to-positive, but not as positive as Universal executives were counting on. Still, positive word of mouth traveled quickly online and proved a massive draw for moviegoers, who aren’t exactly looking for very serious filmmaking in their summer releases.
The story, the special effects and Pratt were more than enough for them, and the combination has proved to be a very successful one.
Chris Pratt will return for the sequel
And since we’re on the topic of Chris Pratt, “Jurassic” has just made him one of the hottest Hollywood commodities. He’s already carrying the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise for Marvel and he’s said to be in talks for an “Indiana Jones” revival as well.
Now, he’s also getting the “Jurassic” franchise, having confirmed for EW that Universal Pictures already has him signed for the sequel.
“I am. They have me for I think 38 movies or something,” he says. He might be joking, but don’t think Universal wouldn’t make this many movies with him and dinosaurs if they all sold like the first one did.