Fallen Kingdom tracking towards a $130-$150 Million domestic opening

Tickets for the domestic release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on June 22nd officially went on sale yesterday, and today the first box office tracking has been released. While tracking numbers are never 100% accurate it does typically give us a good idea of what to expect. According to initial data from Deadline, Fallen Kingdom is tracking to a domestic opening of around $130-$150 Million.

While this tracking obviously is far less than the $208.8 million opening of 2015’s Jurassic World, which was an opening weekend record at the time, it would still be considered a huge opening for any blockbuster. While we await to see what Disney’s Incredibles 2 opens to on June 15th, these trackings would give it the 3rd or 4th biggest opening of the year so far behind Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million), Black Panther ($202.0 million) and potentially Incredibles 2.

Something we must all keep in mind when it comes to tracking is that the potential is there for it to be way off. In 2015, the initial tracking numbers for Jurassic World were predicting an opening weekend of around $100 million and when the film was released it more than doubled that number. What a franchise like Jurassic thrives on most is walk-up ticket purchases, unlike a Star Wars or Marvel movie that typically do massive pre-sales. Walk-ups can really hurt tracking predictions because that is more based on pre-sale ticket purchases. That is not to say Fallen Kingdom will do twice as much as the tracking number, but it is a variable worth watching.

It also should be noted that a potential opening weekend of $130-$150 Million should not be considered a disappointment at all even though it will be less than Jurassic World’s opening. It still has a chance to claim the 2018 Summer opening weekend crown with those numbers (if you count Avengers: Infinity War as a Spring movie since it came out in April) and be the highest grossing movie of the Summer. Fallen Kingdom would still be a success, even if the opening weekend, domestic and worldwide numbers come in under what Jurassic World did. Our early guess based on these tracking numbers is that Fallen Kingdom might do more than $400 million domestically total and about $900 million-$1.2 billion worldwide, which would be a massive box office run for any movie, including a major franchise like Jurassic.

Domestically is not the only place where Fallen Kingdom is expected to do big numbers, Gavin Feng, who covers the Chinese Box Office is reporting that the film is tracking to an opening weekend in China of $105 million over three days. That would surpass the three day opening of $67.19 million for Jurassic World back in 2015. Fallen Kingdom opens in China on June 15th.


What do you think of the initial domestic opening tracking numbers? Does this seem lower, higher or about what you expected? How close do you think the actual opening weekend numbers might be to these tracking numbers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on our forums.

Source: Deadline, Gavin Feng on Twitter

June “Colossal” Lootcrate to Feature Jurassic Park Items

Time for some new Jurassic collectibles! At this point, everyone probably knows what Lootcrate has to offer. The monthly subscription of fun, geeky knick knacks has been partnering with major brands such as Marvel, DC, and Star Wars to bring fans fun items. To coincide with the release of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic Park’s 25th anniversary, June’s theme is “Colossal” and will feature at least one item from the franchise but it is more likely that it will be something from the first movie. Check out the fun art from Lootcrate below:

This is not the first time Lootcrate has offered items from the series, with some previous items including a raptor claw key-chain and an electrified fence sign. You will have until June 19th at 9PM PT to order the crate. In addition, you will also receive items from the Godzilla series, Ghostbusters, and Marvel. Even more reason to get this crate. If you get the crate, make sure you let us know what you get.

Source: Lootcrate

Jurassic World Alive App Is Here!

There’s a dinosaur in our backyard…
 

Jurassic World Alive is a new app that is sure to grab every dino lover’s attention. In the app, you are a member of the Dinosaur Protection Group (DPG), and you are on a mission to save the dinosaurs. Much like Pokemon Go, you explore your surroundings in search of dinosaurs. Once you track down a dinosaur, you pilot a drone and collect DNA samples from them. You can create normal dinosaurs, or pretend you’re Henry Wu and make some hybrids! After assembling a team of dinosaurs, you then head over to the battle area and face off against other players. Prizes for winning include (but aren’t limited to): coins, DNA samples, and darts for DNA collecting.

The app is now available for Android on Google Play, and for iOS in the App Store. Start hunting those dinos!

 
As mentioned above, this game is similar to Pokemon Go in a lot of ways. The game uses your location for placement of dinosaurs and supply drops, and it has warnings about being safe while playing (thanks, Owen!). The drone/firing the darts can take a little getting used to, but the controls seem very responsive. All the dinosaurs in the game have profiles that detail their battle stats, which you need to pay attention to once you step into the battle area. They start you out in the Fallen Kingdom arena, and there are different battle arenas that unlock as you win more battles! Battles get more exciting as you level up you dinos (by gathering more DNA), and mixing up your team combinations. Unlike Pokemon Go, supply drops are not always at landmarks, and they appear more frequently in suburban/rural areas.

Jurassic World: Alive also has a fun AR feature, allowing you to bring the dinosaurs you’ve captured to life in the real world via your phones camera. This creates a fun photo and video opportunity many fans are already taking advantage of!

Have you played Jurassic World Alive yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Tickets Now On Sale!

Hold on to your butts! Tickets for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom are now on sale for theaters all across North America. AMC tweeted the fantastic news early this morning.

Select theaters will be hosting a Jurassic World double feature starting earlier in the afternoon that will show the first Jurassic World movie immediately followed by Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Check out the announcement below.

Audience members of this double dinosaur experience are promised exclusive content and a poster as part of the package deal. Tickets are on track to sell out fast so get yours while they last!

Did you already buy your tickets? Did you opt for the double feature or an IMAX showing? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: AMC Theaters

Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, John Rosengrant and MORE Discuss ‘Jurassic Park’ at the 25th Anniversary Celebration in Universal Studios Hollywood!

Remind me to thank John for a lovely weekend. Wow! Last weekend at Universal Studios Hollywood, thousands of fans from around the world attended an official gathering for Jurassic Park which celebrates it’s 25th birthday this year.

Universal Pictures, the theme park team, and all of the partners and collaborators involved staged a fantastic and exciting event which span across the entire weekend. We were treated to a theatrical screening of the new 4K release of Jurassic Park, panels with the filmmakers and talent, trivia and costume contests, themed food, all within the lowerlot at the park.

Not only were multiple partners there showcasing their video games, merchandise and experiences, but Colin Trevorrow himself introduced the IMAX screening of Jurassic Park by showing the opening scene of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom which received fantastic reviews!

If you got to your screen early enough you would also catch the remastered original teaser trailer and theatrical trailer for Jurassic Park, which are pretty amazing to see at such high quality. Hopefully these will be made available soon! We couldn’t resist our own ‘reaction’ video for the opening scene of Fallen Kingdom, considering just how excited it made us:

From Friday night to Sunday night fans of all ages celebrated their love for the movie and the franchise itself, and were able to experience everything Universal Studios Hollywood has to offer.

     

Jurassic Park: The Ride remained open the entire time and some of us experienced it for the first time! Ryan also lost his hat.

Panels

The highlight of the event for all of the three nights were the live panels, hosted by Colin Trevorrow and featuring both cast and crew from the franchise. Panels are a fan celebration standard often associated with Comic Con that Jurassic has been devoid of until now.

It’s not often that fans can listen to the talent that brought the movies together sit and discuss the inner details of what it takes to make these movies, and these panels fulfilled that craving. Hopefully these panels are the start of a more in depth and fan community centered focus for the Jurassic franchise moving forward.

When we first arrived into the lower lot our attention was caught by Dennis Muren, who was standing below the gates in anticipation for the panel. Growing up with Jurassic Park and watching the behind the scenes documentaries meant fans like us admired the technical and creative talent behind the movie, so we introduced ourselves to visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren and expressed our love for his work!

Celebration events like this are very new to the Jurassic Park fandom but provide the ability for fans to meet their heroes; the people that inspired them. We captured the panels via a live stream for any fans that couldn’t make it out to the event, and we have embedded those below!

Friday 11 May

Colin Trevorrow w/ Dean Cundey, John T. Kretchmer, Dennis Muren

Saturday 12 May

Colin Trevorrow w/ Laura Dern, Frank Marshall, Phil Tippett and Jack Horner

Sunday 13 May

Colin Trevorrow w/ Jeff Goldblum, John Rosengrant, John T. Kretchmer, joined by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and Gareth Edwards

With numerous stories from the making of Jurassic Park being shared on stage, the panels were a huge hit with the many fans that attended and hopefully we will see more in the future. It’s a fascinating way for the filmmakers and cast members to share their memories from the movies, especially now that the franchise has become so prominent in pop culture.

Partner Booths

Throughout the three events those attending could make their way to the Activity Center, which hosted a wealth of original props and costumes from the movies on display, and featured booths from the various Universal Pictures partners, showcasing their products which included video games, collectables, VR experiences and more!

Jurassic Park: Danger! Board Game

Ravensburger

The Ravensburger and Forrest-Pruzan Creative team were there hosting gameplays of their new Jurassic Park board game which we filmed below! We partnered with Ravensburger to giveaway two copies of the game during our live stream, with the winners being announced in the video on the right below. Huge thanks to Florian, Lindsay and Michele!

     

Steven Ray Morris of See Jurassic Right, Scallenger of Jurassic Time, DeinoNickus, and our very own Ryan played a game of Jurassic Park: Danger!

         

You can read more about the Jurassic Park: Danger! board game here.

Jurassic Park: The Chaos Gene

Mondo Games

While very little is known about this upcoming board game, the team from Mondo Games were showing off their concept and allowing fans to signup for future updates on the game.

We’re expecting more information on the game this year to coincide with a release – be sure to read everything we know about the game here!

Jurassic World: Evolution

Frontier Developments

This one was definitely a surprise for fans – Frontier Developments setup gaming stations at their booth allowing fans to play the upcoming park building simulator game!

The demo they had allowed roughly ten minutes of gameplay, including sending your ACU team to tranquillise a dinosaur and then move it to another area in the park. It gave a good opportunity to learn about how the game functions and how beautiful it looks!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Toyline

Mattel

While Mattel weren’t on-hand at their booth, the display they had created perfectly showcased their upcoming toyline for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and they even had a number of the Legacy Collection toys on display too!

We love the toy line and have more reviews coming soon, so stay tuned!

Jurassic World: Blue VR Experience

Felix & Paul Studios

This one was not one to miss! Announced a little while back, this VR experience for Oculus features Blue on Isla Nublar after the events of Jurassic World, and shows her reaction to the impending danger that features in Fallen Kingdom. The whole experience is beautifully directed and animated, and may be one of the most magical looks at dinosaurs since the very first film in 1993.

We had the unique chance to go hands on with BOTH episodes while we were in Los Angeles, and cannot stress enough how incredible of an experience it was. Don’t sleep on these VR episodes – they’re a new form of Jurassic storytelling that invoke all the staples you love from the films, and could very much be the future way to tell side stories in the universe (or explore the park itself!).

Jurassic World: Alive

Ludia Games

For fans of Pokemon Go, the team at Ludia Games (who were behind Jurassic Park: Builder and Jurassic World: Builder for iOS and Android) revealed their new game to fans which allows you to go out and capture dinosaurs!

The game ties in with the upcoming movie’s viral marketing, the Dinosaur Protection Group, and is available on both iOS and Android devices now!

Jurassic World: Pinball

Zen Studios

The team at Zen Pinball had a couple if iPads setup allowing you to play their Jurassic Park themed pinball game! This one was a lot of fun and will be an easy winner for the game of choice when you’re waiting for your flight…

Prop Recreations

Fandango

The entire partner booth area was setup with love for Jurassic in mind – with a jungle surrounding and the theme music playing, fans were in their element! The partner booths led to the main display which featured the Jurassic Park 29 Jeep which was seen in Jurassic World, the Gyrosphere and a couple of dinosaurs.

The Theme Park

A number of times at the event, people would ask us why the event was being held in Universal’s Hollywood Park as opposed to the much larger Orlando Park. And to every person we gave the same response: Orlando is a theme park that doubles as a Film Studio. Hollywood is a Film Studio that doubles as a Theme Park. And it was at this very Studio that Jurassic Park was filmed, edited and evolved.

The event was all about being able to reach out and touch the things that we had only been available for us to view on the screen until now, and that’s what made Hollywood the perfect venue.

When boarding the tram to the theater at end of the first night, the attendant pointed out that if we were stood exactly where we were right at that moment, 22 years ago, we would be seeing the RV trailers from The Lost World dangling off of the adjacent car park.

The Hollywood theme park hosts the ride, Jurassic Outfitters and Jurassic Café, among all the other attractions!

Working with the Jurassic Park Motor Pool we were able to organize a number of the member’s vehicles present at the event for photo opportunities, and some fans went even further! A few years ago Franck Galiègue purchased a screen-used vehicle from The Lost World: Jurassic Park… none other than the RV trailers that are pushed over the cliff by the two Rex’s!

Don’t worry – Alex is fine, he was just excited.

This was an incredible vehicle to see in person not only due to its sheer size, but because this vehicle featured in one of the greatest sequences constructed in this franchise, and is often a fan favourite. Thanks Franck for making this happen! Be sure to follow the team’s progress.

Trivia and Costume Contest

Activities happened all night in the park and shortly following the panels was the Live Trivia contest, in which fans could compete against each other over knowledge of the franchise!

Many fans also dressed up as their favourite characters from the movies – with Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler making regular appearances. People put so much effort into their various costumes and outfits, it was amazing to see!

The event was a blast and was an incredible way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Jurassic Park! Universal Studios Hollywood spared no expense with this weekend long event, and our team loved meeting so many Jurassic fans from across the world!

A few fans were lucky enough to meet and greet Colin Trevorrow at the event, and the members of our team that attended got a photo!

Check out the galleries below!

Our video coverage will be available soon!

Huge thanks to our photographers Tim Cianfano and Alex Evans!

Stay tuned for more and if you were one of the unlucky fans who wasn’t able to make it out to Hollywood for the event, we hope you enjoyed our coverage! A big thanks to Universal Pictures and the various teams involved in bringing this event together – it was a blast!

What would you like to see at future Jurassic Park events? If you attended the JP25 celebration, what did you enjoy and what worked for you, and what could potentially benefit from improvements? Let us know in the comments section below as your comments may influence future events.

IMAX poster for Fallen Kingdom revealed by J.A. Bayona

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona just revealed the IMAX poster for the 5th film. The poster features Robert Emms’ character hanging onto a ladder attempting to escape the T-Rex via helicopter.

Will he make is safely from the jaws of the fearsome T-Rex, or will he be the latest meal for the Queen of Isla Nublar? Check out the full sized poster below:

What do you think of the IMAX Fallen Kingdom poster and where does it rank for you compared to the rest of the posters? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on our forums.

Source: J.A. Bayona’s Twitter

New Behind The Scenes Look at the Art and Practical Effects of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’!

With the first impressions from the world premiere for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom now online, some fans may want to turn away from further trailers and tv spots for risk of seeing too much of the movie before release. If you are one of these people, but you still have a craving for something Jurassic, then a bunch of behind the scenes looks at the movie are beginning to pop up across social media!

While these still provide spoilers for some excited audience members, a behind the scenes look at a movie often discusses more of the technical aspects of making a movie, rather than outright story spoilers.

So tread carefully, but if you want to learn about the animatronics that have been designed and featured in the movie, the French magazine L’écran Fantastique have published some photos featuring a number of animatronics, as well as interviews with Colin Trevorrow about the creation of the new trilogy, and Neal Scanlan, who is the lead designer for the animatronics.

The images show the different stages of animatronic creation include models of the Baryonyx and Tryannasaurus Rex heads, a cast for the Indoraptor leg, and the work-in-progress versions of the T.Rex and Indoraptor heads. Other images show Blue, the T.Rex, and the Indoraptor animatronics being used on set.

Blue appears to have a full body animatronic in the scene where she is on the table, and only a head will be used for other scenes. The Indotraptor doesn’t appear to be a full body animatronic, but will have a practical head, foot, and arm. You can get a feel for the size of the Indoraptor in the image of the man holding the arm. No wonder the little girl in the trailer looks so scared!

blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>

pic.twitter.com/H7xnQaA1EH

— CK_595 (@clark595) May 8, 2018

Details from the interviews were translated from the article (if you would like to avoid all potential spoilers, don’t read the details below). Thanks to Twitter user @clark595 for translating!

Further, a Spanish publication, Academia Revista digital del Cine Español, recently featured director J.A. Bayona, and the article included storyboards and concept art from the film. A cool thing to note is that it’s referred to as ‘Ancient Futures’ on multiple images, which was the working title before it became ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’! The magazine also shows another look at the model for the Indoraptor arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, taking a further look at the animatronics IGN released a video on the practical effects used in Fallen Kingdom. Check it out below!


 

While many of these practical puppets were later replaced by CGI, these behind the scenes looks are always a blast. Do you enjoy seeing behind the scenes images from movies? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Academia Revista digital del Cine Español

25th Anniversary Jurassic Park Coin From Smart Arts Gallery Now Available For Order

A collectible 25th Anniversary Jurassic Park coin featuring the T-Rex from Smart Arts Gallery is now available for order. The coin, which goes for £12.00, is licensed by Universal Studios and limited to 9,995 worldwide. On May 25th the coin will be exclusively launched at MCM London Comic Con and will begin shipping to buyers after the conclusion of the show.

The coin is a heavyweight silver edition coin that is embossed on both sides and has a diameter of 3.8cm.

What do you think of this limited edition 25th Anniversary Jurassic Park coin? Are you considering buying it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on our forums.

Source: Smart Arts Gallery

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Spending $185 Million On Global Promo Campaign

Universal is sparing no expense when it comes to promoting Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, as it is spending roughly $185 million on global promotion according to a report from Deadline.

Spanning items from Jeep Wranglers to bandages, Fallen Kingdom continues the brand’s tradition with a $185M global promo campaign in media value. That’s double the size of the previous partner program for the release of Jurassic World three years ago, and it outstrips recent summer promo campaigns like Disney’s Avengers: Infinity War ($150M+) and last year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming ($140M) and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 ($80M). Overall, nine different partners will be running TV spots, which will remain in play well past Fallen Kingdom‘s opening day. In total, consumers around the globe will be exposed to 1.3 billion Fallen Kingdom packages in the marketplace, and 1.5M displays.

Everywhere you turn you can see Jurassic World being packaged and slapped on lunch boxes and now Universal is selling it. The tie-ins and promotion really got going on Super Bowl Sunday. The Colin Trevorrow directed Jeff Goldblum/Jeep commercial where he is being chased by a T-Rex that aired during the game had 39.7 million views in its first 24 hours online. You can watch the Jeep Wrangler commercial below:

Among the other sponsors Universal is working with and creating merchandise for includes Dr. Pepper (with four collectible cans), Doritos, Skittles, Juicy Fruit, Ferrero, Kellogg’s and Dairy Queen among others. Internationally you can expect to see Fallen Kingdom on products from CPW, Hershey, BP and at McDonalds in Latin America.

Even when it comes to promoting the film in markets with the stars of the film there is no holding back. On Wednesday, a life sized T-Rex was spotted being transported down the Thames River in London before being set up for photos and interviews with Colin Trevorrow, J.A. Bayona, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum and Chris Pratt. Take a look at the video below:

It should come as no surprise that Universal is all in with the Jurassic franchise, because in terms of average worldwide gross per film, it is their biggest franchise by far. Having already grossed north of $3.6 billion worldwide through four films, the fifth film is expected to take another massive bite out of the box office. While no one expects Fallen Kingdom to match the huge domestic opening weekend of Jurassic World in 2015 at $208.8 million, it is expected to have a very big opening and one of the biggest of 2018. Official tracking numbers have not been released yet, but early projections from Box Office Pro expect an opening weekend of around $130-150 million. We will get a better idea of it’s domestic opening weekend possibilities in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for updates.

What are your thoughts on Universal spending roughly $185 million on global promotion for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom? Do you think it will pay off in the end for the film and studio? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on our forums.

Source: Deadline

New Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom Clips Hit the Web

First off, slight spoiler alert. Most of these clips are simply extensions of scenes already released through trailers and TV spots. However, the last clip of the bunch contains a brand new scene not shown through the marketing thus far.

We are less than a month away from the release of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom and the marketing campaign has hit full steam. Several new clips from the upcoming film have found their way online and from the looks of them, audiences are in for a treat. The first one is an extended scene of the Carnotaurus attacking Claire, Franklin, and Owen as they retreat to an abandoned gyrosphere on Isla Nublar. Take a look below.

We get to see Rexy in her full glory triumphantly take down the charging Carno and give Owen, Claire, and Franklin their opportunity to escape. The next clip, released more recently, also gives us an extended look into some previously released footage of Owen escaping from the jaws of the T-Rex caged in the back of a cargo truck. Listen for a brief bit of new music from Michael Giacchino’s Fallen Kingdom score.

Exciting stuff! The CGI in this clip seems extremely well done. Plus, we know that this scene will also utilize a full scale animatronic Rex head and body. From the previous clips of this scene, that animatronic looks outstanding. What do you think leads Claire and Owen to interact with the mighty caged Rex?

Last, but certainly not least, is a clip that should tug on the heartstrings of audiences everywhere. This scene shows Claire and Owen locked up in some sort of cage or cell discussing the first time they saw a dinosaur and what led them to this moment. A baby triceratops snuggles with an adult in a nearby cage. Listen to the familiar tune in the background as our beloved characters come to terms with their situation.

This clip gives off a strong “Petticoat Lane” sentiment. Just like Hammond and Ellie discussing the implications of the park in the first movie, this shows Claire and Owen having to face the consequences from abandoning Jurassic World, and eventually Isla Nublar. To me, some of the best parts of the films have always been watching the characters struggle with the real-world implications of their actions, and it looks like Fallen Kingdom is not going to shy away from those tough reality checks.

What do you think of the clips? Do you think Rexy will break her chains for another heroic rescue at Lockwood Manor? Will Owen and Claire face the consequences for helping to get dinosaurs off an exploding Isla Nublar? Will the baby trike be the actual hero of Fallen Kingdom? Sound off in the comments below.