Category: Jurassic World

Jurassic World Rebirth has now been released in all countries around the world after opening in Japan on August 8th. Domestically, while it is still making money in theaters, the film has been available to purchase/rent on digital for almost two weeks. With the theatrical run in its final stretch, the question is: Was Jurassic World Rebirth another financial success for the franchise? The answer is a resounding yes, and it might even be better than it looks on the surface.

As of August 17th, Jurassic World Rebirth has amassed a domestic total of $332.1 million and an international total of $496.5 million for a combined worldwide total of $828.6 million. The domestic and worldwide totals rank as the 5th best in the series behind Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World Dominion. Rebirth is likely to finish its worldwide run somewhere in the $850 million range.

One might look at the franchise that has four films grossing over a billion dollars each and see this installment falling short of of that exclusive club as a result of diminishing returns. While there has been a slow decline for each movie in box office since Jurassic World made $1.67 billion in 2015, there are many factors at play. Three of the biggest reasons are the slow recovery of the film industry post-pandemic, the recent introduction of short theatrical windows before digital release, and the continued decline of success for films in China.

Post-pandemic, Hollywood films are very capable of still joining the billion dollar club. The last installment, Dominion, did just that in 2022, but it is not as attainable as it once was. In 2019, pre-pandemic, there were 9 films that crossed the billion dollar mark, but post-pandemic the average is now only 2-3 films per year. Eight months into 2025 and only one film so far, Lilo & Stitch, has joined the club. The new reality of the decrease in the amount of films reaching this mark has led one agency head, according to Borys Kit of the Hollywood Reporter, to say that “$800m is the new billion”.

Exclusive theatrical windows for films continue to decrease in frequency and length. In 2015 for Jurassic World, the time from date of theatrical release to digital availability was 130 days. 10 years later Rebirth‘s exclusive theatrical window was only 35 days. While Rebirth continues to play in theaters (and continues to make good returns) there is no denying that a shorter window is going to have a direct impact on how many people were able to see it in theaters. Some people might even forgo seeing it in a theater with the knowledge that they can watch it at home sooner. The debate over diminishing theatrical windows extends past just Jurassic World Rebirth and has become a frequent conversation for Universal Pictures. Other companies like Warner Brothers are also opting for the short theatrical exclusive windows. Their new Superman film hit digital streaming August 15th, also after just 35 days in theaters.

The Chinese market has always been the second biggest market for Jurassic films after domestic, and that was no different for Rebirth. Its total gross from China was approximately $78 million, which is the top-grossing Hollywood film of the year in that market. Though even with Rebirth topping all other Hollywood films, the market itself is not what it was a decade ago or even just three years ago when Dominion was released. In 2015 Jurassic World made $205 million, in 2018 Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom made $261 million, and in 2022 Jurassic World Dominion made $158 million. The Chinese market has rejected more films from Hollywood over time and is on track to no longer be the second biggest market for the industry. While $78 million for Rebirth is impressive in the new climate of the market, it still is a major decrease from previous films. Most Hollywood films have begun to see less success there. For example, Superman only grossed approximately $9 million and was pulled from theaters after roughly two weeks.

This is without even mentioning the fact that domestically Rebirth didn’t have an IMAX release and couldn’t benefit from the extra dollars those premium screens would have brought in. These things might seem like excuses for failing to reach a billion dollars, but are in fact legitimate reasons for reaching the box office numbers it did. All that being said, is this to be considered a major success for the franchise? Despite those factors playing against Rebirth, it still made a massive amount of money, will finish as the #2 highest grossing film of the summer, and is currently the #3 highest grossing Hollywood film of the year.

The “Big 3” battle of July between Rebirth, Superman, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps wasn’t even close in the end. While Superman will slightly win the battle for domestic gross, Rebirth is going to clear Superman by more than $200 million worldwide. The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be further behind in 3rd place in both domestic and worldwide numbers. A lot of box office experts made projections that Rebirth would have a hard time competing with those two superhero films, but in the end they were a footnote to Jurassic’s run.

With a reported budget of $225 million (before marketing), Jurassic World Rebirth needed to reach approximately $563 million to break even. In that case, it should finish its run with a profit of almost $300 million, another win for the franchise and Universal Pictures. Also, the budget and marketing combined for this film is reportedly less than what the studio spent on Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Jurassic World Dominion. Meaning that even with a lower total gross, it might be on par or even slightly more successful than some of the previous installments.

Let’s take a look at where things stand not only for Rebirth but also the franchise as a whole for Universal Pictures. Rebirth‘s current domestic gross of $332.1 million makes it the 14th highest grossing film domestically (unadjusted for inflation) in Universal Pictures’ history. By the end of its run it should be be able to push pass 2015’s Minions to take the 13th spot. That would make 5 of the top 13 films domestically in Universal Pictures’ history belong to the Jurassic franchise. Worldwide, things are also impressive as Rebirth is currently 15th and will end its run in this spot. Similar to Universal’s domestic box office history, 5 of the top 15 films in their worldwide box office history belong to the Jurassic franchise. This just goes to show that while Universal has a few very successful franchises, such as the Fast and Furious saga and the Despicable Me franchise, Jurassic is the top franchise for the studio. Grossing $6.86 billion as of today as a franchise (for an average of $980 million per film) blows all the other Universal properties out of the water.

With another financial success for the franchise, the question is no longer if there will be a Jurassic 8, but when. I personally enjoyed Rebirth greatly, but it should be noted that this film received pretty mixed reviews and reactions. As of today the critic score on Rotten Tomatoes is 51% and the audience score is 71%. Jurassic fans themselves seem to trend more in the mixed-to-positive range. All that being said, the hope is that an 8th Jurassic can hit the right notes for even more people and be a high quality film. But when should we realistically expect to see it? My personal opinion is that there will be minimal to no news for probably a year, maybe two before an announcement. I would expect the film to hit theaters Summer of 2028 or 2029.

I hope you enjoyed this Jurassic franchise and Rebirth box office update and want to send a big congratulations to the cast, crew, and Universal Pictures on another successful installment in the franchise! We fans look forward to what the future will bring. What are your thoughts on the box office run for Rebirth? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!