Dinosaurs are ruling the box office again.
“Jurassic World Rebirth,” the seventh installment in Universal’s long-running prehistoric series, stomped to $147.3 million over its first five days in 4,308 North American theaters. Those ticket sales are enough to tower over domestic charts during the star-spangled Fourth of July holiday weekend and likely position the latest “Jurassic” as one of the biggest hits of the summer.
However, those initial returns are down significantly from more recent entries in the 32-year-old franchise. For context, “Jurassic World Rebirth” earned $91.5 million over the traditional weekend (the movie opened on Wednesday to capitalize on the Independence Day stretch). That’s a steep drop from the three-day starts of 2015’s “Jurassic World,” which initially rebooted the classic sci-fi series with $208 million, as well as its sequels, 2018’s “Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom” ($148 million) and 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion” ($145 million). After five days on the big screen, “Jurassic World” had collected $258 million, “Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom” had generated $181 million and “Jurassic World Dominion” had earned $172 million. The downward trend signals the aging property, which began with 1994’s “Jurassic Park” and has produced several theme park rides in addition to the sprawling film franchise, is exhibiting some wear and tear.
Any long-in-the-tooth series is wont to experience diminishing returns at the box office, and Universal smartly economized with “Jurassic World Rebirth,” which resets the property again with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali. The film cost $180 million to produce, not including a hefty marketing budget, which is way less than the $250 million that the studio shelled out for prior “Jurassic World” films. Though the newest installment doesn’t need to reach a billion dollars to become a commercial success, it’s a benchmark that all three films in the preceding trilogy have managed to surpass. And Universal wants “Rebirth” to spawn a new trilogy, so sustained interest from moviegoers is necessary to justify that kind of commitment.
It helps that “Jurassic World” remains hugely popular overseas, where “Rebirth” roared to a massive $171 million from 82 international markets. Globally, “Jurassic World Rebirth” ignited to $318 million in its first weekend of release.
“The series has been especially good overseas and, so far, foreign business is outstanding,” says David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm. “Dinosaur action is understood in all languages and across all cultures.”
Critics and audiences were kinder to “Jurassic World Rebirth” than they were to the “Jurassic World” movies led by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, though reviews have never been make-or-break for the box office results of “Jurassic” sequels. Directed by Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Godzilla”) and written by original “Jurassic Park” screenwriter David Koepp, the action-adventure revolves around a top-secret mission to search for dinosaurs whose DNA holds the key to a wonder drug.
“Jurassic World Rebirth” was the weekend’s only major new release, so its only competition came from holdover titles including Brad Pitt’s racing thriller “F1” and Universal’s live action “How to Train Your Dragon” remake.
In a distant No. 2, “F1” added $26.1 million from 3,732 venues in its second lap around the track, marking a 54% decline from its opening weekend. So far, the Apple film has generated $109 million in North America and $293.6 million worldwide after 10 days in theaters. With those returns, “F1” has officially surpassed director Ridley Scott’s 2023 historical epic “Napoleon” ($221 million) as Apple’s highest-grossing movie. Though that’s not a terribly high barometer (Apple has only released five films theatrically), it’s a step in the right direction in terms of the fledgling studio’s commercial ambitions. “F1” was hugely expensive, however, costing roughly $250 million to produce, so the tentpole requires many laps around the track to justify its massive price tag.
Third place went to “How to Train Your Dragon” with $9.7 million from 3,714 screens in its fourth weekend of release. The family friendly reboot has generated $224 million domestically and nearly $500 million globally to date.
Another PG offering, Disney and Pixar’s “Elio,” took the No. 4 spot with $4.9 million from 3,235 theaters in its third outing. The intergalactic adventure has generated just $54 million in North America and $96 million globally. Despite solid reviews, the $150 million-budgeted tentpole is shaping up to be one of the lowest-grossing Pixar movies in history.
“28 Years Later” rounded out the top five with $4.6 million from 2,917 venues, a 64% drop from the weekend prior. After three weekends on the big screen, the zombie sequel has amassed $59 million domestically and $109 million globally against a $60 million budget.
Also of note, Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” remake has notched $972 million globally (including a huge $408 million in North America) and remains poised to become the year’s first billion-dollar blockbuster. So, of course, a live-action sequel is already in the works.
More to come…