Jurassic World’s Record-Breaking Box Office

by

Just three films have surpassed $250 million in domestic box office earnings during their opening weekend, and all of them are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Additionally, only five movies have opened to more than $220 million, with either the MCU or Star Wars franchises being responsible. To date, no film outside these two series has managed to open higher than $210 million. As a result, when A Minecraft Movie debuted with a domestic opening of $162.75 million, it ranked as the seventh-largest North American opening for a movie not belonging to the Star Wars or MCU franchises.

🚨 BREAKING: Trump's Tariffs May Rock EUR/USD!

Shocking new analysis predicts massive volatility ahead. Markets brace for impact!

View Urgent Forecast

It’s worth noting that this fantasy adventure didn’t break the record for the highest domestic box office opening for any motion picture not associated with Disney’s iconic Star Wars or Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises. Instead, that title has been held by “Jurassic World,” which stormed into theaters in 2015 and has yet to be surpassed by a non-Star Wars/MCU film since then.

What Was Jurassic World ‘s Opening Box Office?

Initially projected to earn between $135-145 million in its debut weekend, the sequel Jurassic World surpassed all these predictions by earning an astonishing $208.8 million within its first three days at the domestic box office, making it the film with the highest opening weekend in North America at that time. This figure even surpassed the May 2012 debut of The Avengers by a margin of $1.4 million. In other words, Jurassic World demonstrated an impressive performance, highlighting the enduring popularity of the Jurassic Park franchise that has spanned over 22 years. Furthermore, this box office success challenged the notion that only Disney could command opening weekends above the $200 million mark domestically.

The success of “Jurassic World” marked a significant turnaround for Universal Pictures, moving them beyond the series of box office flops they faced during the late 2000s and early 2010s, such as “Green Zone,” “Your Highness,” and “Repo Men.” Despite struggling with big-budget films in this decade due to costly failures like “Battleship” and “R.I.P.D.”, Universal managed to regain its footing in the live-action blockbuster genre, a field where Disney and Warner Bros. had been thriving.

For a decade now, “Jurassic World” has remained Universal’s most successful domestic film ever, and it holds the record for the largest non-“Star Wars”/”Marvel” domestic opening in history. Only a handful of movies have come close to unseating it from its throne, with July 2019’s “The Lion King” and June 2018’s “Incredibles 2” being the nearest contenders, each opening to around $191.77 million and $182.68 million respectively. In the 2020s, only “A Minecraft Movie” and “Barbie” have come close with their debut earnings of approximately $162-163 million. It seems that dinosaurs didn’t just dominate the Earth thousands of years ago; they’ve also reigned supreme over a significant portion of the last decade’s American blockbusters.

How Did Jurassic World’s Box Office Affect The Jurassic Franchise?

The biggest earner at the box office for the Jurassic World franchise was undeniably the original Jurassic World film. However, its two sequels, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World Dominion, were also significant financial successes in their own right, despite not quite reaching the heights of Jurassic World’s opening weekend or total domestic earnings. Both films opened with impressive $148 million and $145 million respectively, demonstrating the enduring popularity of Jurassic World among moviegoers since its release in 2015.

Over that summer season, the highly anticipated blockbuster movie left people eager to reconsider terrifying dinosaurs. However, since the last decade, only Jurassic World hasn’t been followed by numerous other films raking in over $200 million during their debut weekends, outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars franchises. These two Disney properties have significantly influenced pop culture in the latter half of the 2010s. The 2020s, though, have been affected by numerous external issues such as COVID-19, strikes, and studios focusing more on streaming originals.

In simple terms, it’s quite unusual for movies outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and Star Wars to match their opening weekends with those blockbusters. However, the Minecraft movie managing to rank seventh among them is reminiscent of Jurassic World’s massive success a decade ago. If a film connects with audiences, it can become a powerful box office hit in North America during its opening weekend, regardless of whether it has lightsabers, Infinity Stones, or dinosaurs.

Jurassic World is now streaming on Prime Video.

Read More

2025-04-14 00:11