The fourth flick in the dinosaur franchise earned $82.8 million on Friday, with weekend estimates ranging anywhere between $180 million and $190 million.
That puts the Colin Trevorrow reboot behind The Avengers ($207 million) and The Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191 million) in terms of opening weekend runs.
According to some sources, this figure is “jaw-dropping,” especially considering the movie wasn’t expected to earn more than $140-150 million during its opening.
The fourth instalment of the franchise, starring Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt, is set to be the most successful. It comes over a decade after Jurassic Park III hit theatres and 22 years after Steven Spielberg launched the series with Jurassic Park.
Jurassic World takes place on the same island as the original but on a totally new and rebuilt theme park. As things begin to progressively go wrong, the film’s protagonists, played by Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio and Ty Simpkins, discover remnants of the old Jurassic Park and begin to relive a similar fate.
Spielberg retains credit as executive producer, but this is Trevorrow’s film, who takes a big step up following his directorial debut with 2012’s introspective sci-fi flick, Safety Not Guaranteed. The success of Jurassic World during its opening weekend has now established him among Hollywood’s most prized directors.
The film is likely to dominate the summer’s box office, and has already forced Melissa McCarthy’s Spy to take a backseat, which opened at $32 million last weekend, and trounced Dwayne Johnson vehicle, San Andreas, which pulled $112 million on its release but only made $3 million Friday.
The unexpected success wasn’t lost on star Pratt, who thanked fans on his Facebook page.
“On behalf of everyone involved in the making of Jurassic World, and believe me there are thousands of us, I want to say thank you,” wrote Pratt Friday night. “It feels so wonderful to hear the overwhelmingly positive response. We are incredibly blessed and overcome with joy at the outcome of the movie and couldn’t be more appreciative for the amazing support you’ve shown so far. This is bigger than all of us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
The film has cemented Pratt as one of Hollywood’s hottest commodities, transforming him from the lovable blockhead Andy of sitcom Parks and Recreation into a fully-fledged action hero.
