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Dinosaurs rule the earth again after “Jurassic World” debuted to a dominant $204.6 million at the domestic box office this weekend.
That commanding number, the second biggest opening in history, all be ensures that those pesky geneticists will keep futzing around with Triceratops DNA for several more installments and park-goers will continue to serve as prehistoric reptile kibble.
Universal Pictures and Legendary shelled out $150 million to reopen the park, bringing on Sundance sensation Colin Trevorrow (“Safety Not Guaranteed”) and snagging Chris Pratt to star in the sequel. It has been more than a decade since “Jurassic Park III” and the absence appears to have spiked interest in the latest film. Credit goes to Trevorrow and crew for recapturing that old Isla Nublar magic.
Going into the weekend, it was clear that “Jurassic World” was shaping up to be a box office colossus, but no one was even close to predicting the scale of the opening. Most projections were in the $125 million to $135 million range.
Instead, “Jurassic World” scored the year’s biggest bow, just ahead of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and its formidable $191.3 million opening last May. It ranks behind 2012’s “Marvel’s The Avengers” and its $207.4 million debut on the all-time list of openings. From there, “Jurassic World” stomped across the record books, scoring the third biggest opening day ever, with $82.8 million and shattering all June high-water marks for opening weekend, biggest opening day and all-time biggest PG-13 launch.
“This is really unprecedented in terms of shattering expectations,” said Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “They rebooted it in just a really smart way. Universal’s marketing campaign was exceptional. They just nurtured this thing and the trailers were excellent.”
It also snapped a cold streak at the stateside box office, driving ticket sales up 48% over the previous year. That’s quite an accomplishment given that last year at this time fielded the double whammy of “22 Jump Street” and “How to Train Your Dragon 2.”
Universal has yet to release its global figures, but they are likely to be gargantuan. The sequel bowed across 66 international territories including such major markets as China, the United Kingdom, Russia, Mexico, and Australia. In North America, “Jurassic World” unspooled on 4,273 theaters, the widest release in Universal history.
