June 14, 2015 2:20 p.m. ET
What asteroid?
The dinosaurs of “Jurassic World” set a record at the summer box office, bringing in a surprisingly robust $204.6 million in North America and making the film the first to gross more than $500 million world-wide in a single weekend.
Hollywood was expecting a hit, but the “Jurassic World” gross in North America exceeded estimates by more than $50 million and continued a sterling summer for Comcast Corp.<span class="article-chiclet hide down" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/89307/composite"> CMCSA -0.85 % ’s Universal Pictures.
The movie, starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as the latest park workers dealing with prehistoric predators run amok, also unexpectedly unseated May’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” sequel for the best weekend opening so far this year. Its domestic haul is the second-highest weekend opening of all time behind the original “Avengers,” which fetched $207.4 million in 2012.
Overseas numbers were just as gigantic. “Jurassic World” opened in nearly every market and collected an additional $307.2 million—its estimated total gross of $511.8 million is the highest world-wide opening of all time. China accounted for $100.8 million of the international grosses.
The movie cost about $150 million to make, with co-financing from Legendary Pictures LLC. Its success created a windfall among exhibition partners. IMAX Corp.<span class="article-chiclet hide up" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/3968820/composite"> IMAX 2.24 % said “Jurassic World” set a world-wide record for the company, collecting $44.1 million from its screens world-wide. Other large-format screens operated by exhibitors posted record returns, and about half the tickets sold were for 3-D screenings.
The record-setting opening gives Hollywood a boost after some worrisome weeks at the box office: Walt Disney Co.<span class="article-chiclet hide down" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/245568/composite"> DIS -0.61 % ’s “Tomorrowland” failed to deliver a solid Memorial Day weekend, and the calendar is stacked with similarly big-budgeted movies that will require seismic openings. Yearly box office after this weekend is up 4%, according to box-office tracking firm Rentrak Corp.
Studios have rushed to the vault in recent years in search of franchises they can dust off; the success of “Jurassic World” sets a high benchmark for how well it can go. The release schedules of this summer and 2016 are full of titles that could have been found on the marquee in the 1990s, including next month’s “Terminator: Genisys” and next year’s “Independence Day 2.”
“Jurassic World” revitalizes a franchise that hasn’t been in theaters since 2001. It has been 22 years since Steven Spielberg’s original “Jurassic Park” opened, collecting $357 million and setting a new standard for special effects, with its grazing brontosaurus and chomping Tyrannosaurus Rex. Later sequels “The Lost World” (1997) and “Jurassic Park III” (2001) posted diminishing returns at $229 million and $181 million, respectively.
The movie is the latest hit for Universal in a year that has included “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Furious 7” and “Pitch Perfect 2.” The studio’s docket for the rest of the summer includes highly anticipated titles like the animated “Minions,” the Amy Schumer comedy “Trainwreck” and rap drama “Straight Outta Compton.”
Nostalgia seemed to influence many “Jurassic World” ticket buyers: About 61% of the weekend audience was over the age of 25. With parents bringing their children to the movie, “Jurassic World” is a “family tentpole film,” said Nick Carpou, president of domestic distribution at Universal. “That should lead to less of a drop-off effect” in the weeks ahead, he said. Audiences gave the movie an “A” grade, according to market-research firm CinemaScore.
Universal has yet to announce plans for future “Jurassic” installments, but Mr. Carpou said Sunday, “If the filmmakers agree, we’d really love to have another one.”
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
What asteroid?
The dinosaurs of “Jurassic World” set a record at the summer box office, bringing in a surprisingly robust $204.6 million in North America and making the film the first to gross more than $500 million world-wide in a single weekend.
Hollywood was expecting a hit, but the “Jurassic World” gross in North America exceeded estimates by more than $50 million and continued a sterling summer for Comcast Corp.<span class="article-chiclet hide down" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/89307/composite"> CMCSA -0.85 % ’s Universal Pictures.
The movie, starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as the latest park workers dealing with prehistoric predators run amok, also unexpectedly unseated May’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” sequel for the best weekend opening so far this year. Its domestic haul is the second-highest weekend opening of all time behind the original “Avengers,” which fetched $207.4 million in 2012.
Overseas numbers were just as gigantic. “Jurassic World” opened in nearly every market and collected an additional $307.2 million—its estimated total gross of $511.8 million is the highest world-wide opening of all time. China accounted for $100.8 million of the international grosses.
The movie cost about $150 million to make, with co-financing from Legendary Pictures LLC. Its success created a windfall among exhibition partners. IMAX Corp.<span class="article-chiclet hide up" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/3968820/composite"> IMAX 2.24 % said “Jurassic World” set a world-wide record for the company, collecting $44.1 million from its screens world-wide. Other large-format screens operated by exhibitors posted record returns, and about half the tickets sold were for 3-D screenings.
The record-setting opening gives Hollywood a boost after some worrisome weeks at the box office: Walt Disney Co.<span class="article-chiclet hide down" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/245568/composite"> DIS -0.61 % ’s “Tomorrowland” failed to deliver a solid Memorial Day weekend, and the calendar is stacked with similarly big-budgeted movies that will require seismic openings. Yearly box office after this weekend is up 4%, according to box-office tracking firm Rentrak Corp.
Studios have rushed to the vault in recent years in search of franchises they can dust off; the success of “Jurassic World” sets a high benchmark for how well it can go. The release schedules of this summer and 2016 are full of titles that could have been found on the marquee in the 1990s, including next month’s “Terminator: Genisys” and next year’s “Independence Day 2.”
“Jurassic World” revitalizes a franchise that hasn’t been in theaters since 2001. It has been 22 years since Steven Spielberg’s original “Jurassic Park” opened, collecting $357 million and setting a new standard for special effects, with its grazing brontosaurus and chomping Tyrannosaurus Rex. Later sequels “The Lost World” (1997) and “Jurassic Park III” (2001) posted diminishing returns at $229 million and $181 million, respectively.
The movie is the latest hit for Universal in a year that has included “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Furious 7” and “Pitch Perfect 2.” The studio’s docket for the rest of the summer includes highly anticipated titles like the animated “Minions,” the Amy Schumer comedy “Trainwreck” and rap drama “Straight Outta Compton.”
Nostalgia seemed to influence many “Jurassic World” ticket buyers: About 61% of the weekend audience was over the age of 25. With parents bringing their children to the movie, “Jurassic World” is a “family tentpole film,” said Nick Carpou, president of domestic distribution at Universal. “That should lead to less of a drop-off effect” in the weeks ahead, he said. Audiences gave the movie an “A” grade, according to market-research firm CinemaScore.
Universal has yet to announce plans for future “Jurassic” installments, but Mr. Carpou said Sunday, “If the filmmakers agree, we’d really love to have another one.”
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
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