Looking at the three-day opening for Jurassic World, I feel like Lloyd Christmas in Dumb & Dumber when he’s trying to remember Mary’s last name, only to figure it must be the name on her luggage. Samsonite.
I was way off…with my initial prediction.
An opening above $100 million was easy to fathom. After all, the film had no competition and was marketed a ton by Universal. But a $200 million opening? Now that is an impressive feat. So impressive that it has only been accomplished once before – the opening of The Avengers in 2012 ($207.4 million).
Initial reactions were mixed by both fans and critics (even at Inside Pulse there was a noticeable discrepancy), but that didn’t stop audiences from making the trip to see Jurassic World on the big screen. One theater manager I know says he’s never seen business like he experienced Friday night.
The film’s opening has it sandwiched between the two Avengers movies for all-time openings. So was it a combination of nostalgia and a lack of competition this weekend? The answer is unarguably yes. The previous weekend didn’t exactly shake the pillars of box office heaven with Melissa McCarthy’s Spy, which took the top spot even though it didn’t crack $30 million for the weekend.
The $204.6 million opening Jurassic World achieved also helped in pushing its first week, worldwide haul to $511 million. This is another milestone in becoming the biggest debut of all time, passing the previous record of $494 million by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.
To put the opening in perspective, World bettered the opening weekends of the previous Jurassic Park movies combined! Nearly half of the total came from 3D presentations, with another 10% from IMAX. Factor in the surcharges that each carry and the inflated earnings provide extra cushion for box office domination.
Before anyone claims that Chris Pratt was a factor in the film’s success, that’s a negative ghost rider. He is still an unproven movie lead. He has been fortunate to be part of established brands like Marvel (with Guardians of the Galaxy) and now Jurassic World (though this franchise has been dormant for more than a decade). It’s not like fans of Parks & Recreation stormed the ticket lines wanting to see the latest Andy Dwyer movie.
The big winner in all this has to be Colin Trevorrow, who showed he had directing chops with the indie Safety Not Guaranteed. Perhaps he’s made for tentpole pictures. His style wasn’t nauseating nor was it obtrusive.
Outside of Jurassic World‘s domination the box office was fairly quiet. Insidious: Chapter 3 and Entourage are dying by the day in theaters. Pitch Perfect 2‘s success has been met with a greenlit sequel, and again helps bolster Universal’s banner year of franchise domination (see also Furious 7).
The Brian Wilson biopic, Love & Mercy, crept into the top ten with added screens. It finished with $1.5 million. Meanwhile, the limited release of Fox Searchlight’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl opened in 15 theaters to $69,254, for a per-screen average of $4,617.
On tap for the coming weekend is Pixar’s Inside Out and the comedy Dope. My prediction: this will be the first time a Pixar film doesn’t open in first place.
01. Jurassic World — $204.6 million
02. Spy — $16 million ($56.9 mil.)
03. San Andreas — $11 million ($119.3 mil.)
04. Insidious: Chapter 3 — $7.3 million ($37.3 mil.)
05. Pitch Perfect 2 — $6 million ($170 mil.)
06. Entourage — $4.3 million ($25.8 mil.)
07. Mad Max: Fury Road — $4.1 million ($138.6 mil.)
08. Avengers: Age Of Ultron — $3.6 million ($444.7 mil.)
09. Tomorrowland — $3.4 million ($83.6 mil.)
10. Love & Mercy — $1.5 million ($4.5 mil.)
