Jurassic World: Dominion Joins Billion Dollar Club!

Life found a way! The sixth installment of the Jurassic franchise, Jurassic World: Dominion, crossed the $1 billion mark globally today! It becomes the 51st film in cinematic history and the fourth film in the franchise to reach this coveted milestone. Dominion also becomes only the second film of 2022 so far to make $1 billion+ joining Top Gun: Maverick, which did so back in June. This is major accomplishment for any film to achieve.

Universal has confirmed that Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominion has passed $1 billion in global theatrical grosses.

Four of the six Jurassic films have now joined the exclusive billion dollar club with 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($618,638,999) and 2001’s Jurassic Park III ($368,780,809) as the only two that did not cross. Also, with the success of Dominion, the franchise retains its current title of the only live-action movie franchise that averages $1 billion per film as the entire series is now north of $6 billion total. Though later this year Jurassic will be sharing that title with the Avatar franchise once 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water is released.

The success of this franchise is quite staggering once you realize that franchises like the MCU, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Fast and Furious average below $1 billion per film. Tyrannosaurus Rex translates to Tyrant Lizard King, but I am pretty sure in the land of Hollywood that Jurassic Park translates as Franchise King. 

Jurassic World Dominion will finish it’s domestic run as the 5th highest grossing film in Universal Pictures history only behind Jurassic World, E.T. the Extra-Terrestial, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic Park. Sense a theme? Worldwide, Dominion will finish as Universal Pictures 8th highest grossing film.

So what do you think of Jurassic World Dominion crossing the $1 billion mark? Also, what are your thoughts on the Jurassic franchise being the only live-action film franchise to average $1 billion per film globally? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Forbes

Jurassic World Dominion earns $26.44 million domestically in third weekend, crosses $700 million Worldwide

After two straight weekends on top of the domestic Box Office, Jurassic World Dominion shifted down the chart into 3rd place with an estimated domestic weekend gross of $26.44 million, a 55% drop from last weekend. New release Elvis came in tied for first place with an estimated $30.5 million with Top Gun: Maverick who climbed back up the charts. The weekend actuals will be released tomorrow afternoon to show the true winner. The other new release this week, The Black Phone, also from Universal Pictures, debuted in 4th behind Dominion with an estimated $23.37 million.

Dominion officially crossed the $300 million mark domestically on Sunday and became the 9th film in Universal Pictures history to do so. The domestic total now stands at an estimated $302.77 million. Four of the six Jurassic films have reached this milestone with only The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($229.1 million) and Jurassic Park III ($181.2 million) coming in under.

Internationally the film grew it’s total to an estimated $443.9 million and total worldwide it is now up to $746.7 million. It is the 13th film for Universal Pictures to cross $700 million worldwide and the film is likely eyeing a final total north of $900 million. Unfortunately it is currently looking likely that it will be unable to join the billion dollar club. How the film holds next weekend domestically over the 4th of July holiday and how it fares when it opens in Japan on July 29th will give a much clearer picture on if there is any chance at $1 billion. Regardless if the film reaches that or not, it is still going to finish as one of the most successful films in studio history.

What are your thoughts on Jurassic World Dominion’s third weekend box office numbers? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Jurassic World Dominion stuns Lightyear to remain #1 by earning $58.66 million in second weekend

Domestic Box Office Upset! Jurassic World Dominion was widley expected to drop to #2 during it’s second domestic weekend with the new release of Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear. Last weekend Dominion opened to $145.1 million, the third best opening in franchise history, and in it’s second weekend it dropped 59.6% with an estimated three day total of $58.66 million. Lightyear had been long expected to have a very big opening and push the dinosaurs down the chart but the film underperformed with an opening weekend of only $51 million, which was not enough to dethrone Dominion. The domestic total for Dominion currently stands at an estimated $249.79 million.

The second weekend for Dominion just came in under what Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom did in 2018 ($60.9 million) but there are several factors that are leading to the lower box office numbers then one might have expected for what is being advertised as the conclusion of the series. Disney/Pixar release of Lightyear this weekend, along with Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick continuing to surprise everyone as it made another estimated $44 million this weekend to come in third place plays a big part. Three big films currently in theaters at the same time eat into each other’s box office potential, add in that with about 39% of pre-Covid era moviegoers saying they are not yet ready to return to cinemas and a low Rotten Tomatoes score (currently 30%) have all played into how well Dominion has been doing.

Now that isn’t to say Dominion is not doing well at Box Office because it certainly is, it is just not doing the same overall numbers as Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom previously have done in the recent trilogy. The film officially crossed the $200 million mark on Friday and became the 27th film ever for Universal Pictures to do so and currently sits at #16 all-time in studio history domestically. By next weekend, Dominion will push into the top 10 and will have a chance to crack Universal’s all-time top 5 (would need to surpass $368.4 million) by the end of it’s domestic run. If it does accomplish that, four of the top 5 domestic Universal movies will be from the Jurassic franchise.

Internationally Dominion is up to an estimated total of $372.39 million for a worldwide total of $622.18 million. That is just above the $618.6 that The Lost World: Jurassic Park had made globally in 1997.

What are your thoughts on Jurassic World Dominion’s second weekend box office numbers? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Deadline

Jurassic World Dominion roars to an estimated $143.37 million domestic opening weekend

UPDATE: The actuals for Dominion came in a little higher for the domestic opening at $145,075,625.

The sixth film, Jurassic World Dominion, which is being marketed as the “Epic conclusion for the Jurassic era” roared to an estimated domestic opening of $143.37 million this weekend. While it was not record breaking such as Jurassic World was in 2015 ($208.8 million) it is still one of Universal’s biggest opening weekends ever.

The opening is Universal Pictures’ fourth biggest opening of all time, trailing Jurassic World ($208.8 million), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($148.0 million) and Furious 7 ($147.2 million). Weekend actuals will be released on Monday afternoon.

Exclaimed Universal Domestic Distribution Boss this AM, “This incredible debut for Jurassic World Dominion is driven by not only the loyal fans of the original Jurassic trilogy beginning in 1993, but many new fans experiencing Jurassic for the first time as our casts united for an epic conclusion.  After a long journey from being the first Hollywood film to safely return to production during COVID, up through our global release dates, we’re thrilled for our filmmakers and talent who worked tirelessly on this movie, and for our great partners in exhibition benefitting from a tremendous start to their summer.”

Also, Dominion saw another estimated $177 million come from international markets bringing the worldwide total to $389.2 million.

What are your thoughts on the domestic opening box office numbers for Jurassic World Dominion? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Deadline

Jurassic World Dominion scores $18 million in domestic Thursday previews

Today is June 10th, the official domestic opening for Jurassic World Dominion! However, the film had Thursday afternoon/evening preview showings, and the sixth installment of the Jurassic franchise grossed an estimated $18 million! For comparisons, Jurassic World earned $18.5 million in 2015 and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom earned $15.3 million in 2018 for Thursday previews. Early tracking indicated the film was headed to a $165-205 million opening three day domestic opening, however tracking has since dropped and the expectation is now in the range of $125 million+. Please check back on Sunday for the official three day estimates.

Universal/Amblin’s Jurassic World Dominion earned $18M in previews, but that’s not just from 4PM showtimes yesterday, but also other stunt previews earlier this week

Please Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Deadline

Jurassic World Dominion tracking towards a $165-$205 million domestic opening

Tickets for the sixth film in the franchise, Jurassic World Dominion, officially went on sale April 29th and today we have our first news of what the domestic opening weekend might look like for the film. Box Office Pro is reporting that early domestic tracking for the film is coming in the range of $165-$205 million. If this range holds true, it would be the second biggest opening weekend for the franchise just behind 2015’s Jurassic World.

Massive domestic opening weekend’s are not something new for the Jurassic franchise. While the early tracking for Jurassic World Dominion doesn’t seem to be indicating a record breaking number, three of the previous five installments have broke the opening weekend domestic record. In 1993 the original film Jurassic Park opened to a record $47.03 million besting the opening weekend of 1989’s Batman which had held the record with $40.49 million. The first sequel, 1997’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park opened to record $72.13 million topping the previous record holder, 1995’s Batman Forever which had opened to $52.78 million. 2015’s fourth installment, Jurassic World, shocked the world when it opened to a record $208.81 million overtaking 2012’s The Avengers which had opened to $207.44 million. 2001’s third installment, Jurassic Park III and 2018’s fifth installment, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, are the only two films in the series that have not broken the opening weekend record. While it seems unlikely that Dominion will break the opening weekend record, which is $357.12 million and held by 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, nothing can ever be completely written off as a possibility for the Jurassic franchise.

A factor in the early tracking that everyone should keep in mind is that both Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom either exceeded or met their early tracking projections. Jurassic World was initially tracking at around $100-130 million and ended basically doubling the low end of the projection. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom initially tracked around $130-150 million and came in at the higher end of that range ($148.02 million).

The previous five Jurassic films have combined for over $5 billion worldwide and the series is currently the only live-action film franchise to average over $1 billion per film. With the film projected to have a healthy opening domestic weekend and confirmation that the film will have a China release, the odds are high that Dominion will also join the exclusive billion dollar worldwide club.

What are your thoughts on the early tracking numbers for the domestic box office opening weekend? Do you think it is low, high or right on track to your expectations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below

Jurassic World Dominion will be released in China

Good news for Universal Pictures as Jeff Sneider of The Ankler is reporting that China has accepted Jurassic World Dominion to release theatrical in their country. No official release date though has been set.

China has accepted the third Jurassic World movie, though without any commitment yet of an actual release date. With a movie this size, Universal Pictures would love a simultaneous Dominion open all over the world, but it isn’t entirely up to them, as the Chinese government dictates when movies debut.

In February, box office analyst Jeff Bock said “getting any blockbuster into China right now feels like a big deal.”

This is indeed a very big deal for the final installment of the Jurassic World trilogy. In 2015, $228.7 million of Jurassic World‘s $1.67 billion worldwide total came from China. In 2018, $261.2 million of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom‘s worldwide total also came from China. Outside of it’s domestic release, China has proven to be the second biggest source of global box office for the latest trilogy.

Having a release in China was no slam dunk for Dominion as other studios have seen their films not been accepted for release there.

As tensions between the U.S. and the P.R.C. ratchet up, China has, of late, blanket rejected Hollywood blockbusters — including Marvel movies Spider-Man: No Way HomeShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals — in favor of local product like homegrown mega-hit The Battle at Lake Changjin

The previous five Jurassic films have combined for over $5 billion worldwide and currently is the only live-action film franchise to average over $1 billion per film. So having an outlet of box office income from China is very key to Dominion reaching the $1 billion club and keeping the series at the impressive average.

What are your thoughts on Jurassic World Dominion getting a theatrical release in China? Does this mean a $1 billion+ worldwide gross is a lock? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Jake Johnson will not appear in Jurassic World: Dominion

While initially announced in February of 2020 that Jake Johnson would be reprising his role of Lowery Cruthers in 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion, unfortunately due to the Covid-19 outbreak and other unforeseen circumstances, he was not able to film the role that the original script had called for. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Jake announced the sad news.

When Looper asked Jake Johnson if he could tell us anything about “Jurassic World: Dominion,” he bluntly said, “Well, unfortunately, I’m not in the third one.” He clarified, “Well, I was written in, so it’s announced that I was, but what happened was the pandemic hit.” And, of course, the pandemic ruins everything.

“No, I was in it. So, Colin [Trevorrow] had written a great part. Lowery came back. It was a great conclusion. I was excited to do it. The pandemic hit, and at that time, there was a two-week quarantine. It was a bunch of stuff that I couldn’t get out and leave the family, and we kept trying to make it work. And in the end, the dates just didn’t work out for that one, which was heartbreaking because apart from being in that movie, Colin’s a very old friend.”

What are your thoughts on Jake Johnson’s Lowery not appearing in Jurassic World: Dominion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Jurassic World: The Ride To Re-open April 16th with new update!

Universal Studios Hollywood announced today that the theme park, which closed in March of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will officially re-open to the public on Friday April 16th!

With the re-opening of the park that means that Jurassic World: The Ride will also be re-opening. But the ride will look a little bit different than it did the last time guests experienced it. Added to the ride is a new animatronic Indominus Rex!

The grand reopening of Universal Studios Hollywood also brings guests face-to-face with “Jurassic World—The Ride’s” all-new, extraordinarily realistic dinosaur, the Indominus rex, who stakes her claim at the ride’s finale in a forceful battle with her arch-rival, the Tyrannosaurus rex.”

“Breaking new ground with highly complex innovations, this fully-articulated lifelike Indominus injects intense new thrills, excitement and intrigue to the already dynamic ride. Spanning nearly 55 feet horizontally from head to tail and over 22 feet vertically, the Indominus’ imposing presence will be amplified by the fluidity of her motions and synchronized movements that deliver an unprecedented level of authenticity. From the subtle blinking of her eyes, the flexing of her arms and claws and clenching of her jaw as she bears her razor-sharp teeth, the colossal Indominus rex will lunge from her hillside setting, stalking guests just before they descend the giant waterfall drop to escape her grasp.”

Included with the press release of the ride updates is a new advertisement poster showing the Indominus Rex squaring off with the Tyrannosaurus Rex as a ride boat is about to plummet down a waterfall.

What are your thoughts on Universal Studios Hollywood re-opening and the addition of the Indominus Rex to the Jurassic World ride? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below!

‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ production “pauses” after Coronavirus scare

Just one day after the news broke that Jurassic World: Dominion would be shifting it’s release date a full year to June 10, 2022, director Colin Trevorrow took to Twitter today to announce that production was hitting “pause” for two weeks after what appears to be a few false positive tests for the Coronavirus on set.

The good news it that those that tested positive were re-tested and tested negative, so that would mean there is no actual current spread of the virus on set. However due to the safety protocols that Universal spent $5 million to set up, it seems it requires production to be suspended automatically for two weeks.

Any stoppage for production is not good and I am sure is annoying for the filmmakers, but the good news is this should have little to no impact on the film itself. There are only three weeks of shooting left and even with this delay, will still be wrapped up be early November. With the release date change to 2022 they will have far more than enough time for post-production.

Included with Trevorrow’s tweet about the production “pause” was what appears to be an animatronic Lystrosaurus (wearing a mask). With little hairs on the skin, this mammal-like reptile lived 250 million years ago in the the late Permian and Early Triassic periods. Could this be something that Lewis Dodgson cooked up in his Biosyn lab? (UPDATE: Director Colin Trevorrow confirmed on Twitter it is indeed a Lystrosaurus)

What are your thoughts on production pausing for two weeks? Also what do you think of what appears to be a Lystrosaurus? Let us know in the comments below!