After the summer box office got off to a sluggish start, Universal's Jurassic World is now here to provide a much-needed adrenaline boost to the worldwide market. Early tracking for the film had been quite spectacular leading into this weekend, with many prognosticators estimating that World would soar to as high as $130 million, making it the second-biggest film of the summer (behind Avengers: Age of Ultron). Last night, Jurassic World kicked off its domestic start with $18.5 million, a very stellar total. According to Deadline, Jurassic's Thursday night bow is the 13th highest of all time, tying The Dark Knight and surpassing this year's Furious 7. It did, however, fall behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2, firmly keeping it from all-time record range. Still, an incredibly solid total.
As for the weekend, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter are currently expecting a weekend around $155 million, thanks to a strong $65 million Friday and solid legs on Saturday and Sunday. If it stayed on track for Friday, Jurassic World would stand as the 14th biggest Friday of all time. Not bad for a franchise that has lay dormant for nearly 14 years. Some insiders speculate that Jurassic World could head for a weekend around $160 million, but I'm betting that it falls squarely in the $150-$155 million range.
None of this is especially surprising to me. Among my friends, Jurassic World was one of the few films that everybody had on their list of must-sees. Universal marketed the film spectacularly and made some very smart choices that helped it in the long run. Also, I've seen the movie twice now- last night at 7 PM in IMAX, and again this morning at 11 AM- and each time, it has been very packed. There aren't a ton of four-quadrant blockbusters this summer, but Jurassic World is certainly one of them. Congrats to Universal for another hit after the successful runs of Fifty Shades of Grey, Pitch Perfect 2 and Furious 7. They have another smash to add to their mantle, and the next one (Minions) is not far behind.
Image Credits: ET Online, Hypable
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