‘Jurassic World’ gobbles up records
The fourth instalment of the Jurassic Park saga has enjoyed a roaring success, taking €1,376,215 at the all-Ireland box office in its first three days. Its haul was nearly three times the combined takings of the other nine films that made up the top ten box office last week.
The strong performance in the Irish box office mirrors international trends, as audiences around the world have flocked back to the disaster-prone theme park.
The film — starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and a host of prehistoric predators — has recorded a worldwide opening of $511.8m (€455.4m), the first time a movie has ever grossed more than $500m in one weekend.
In Ireland, it recorded the ninth biggest opening after Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Pt.2 (€2.05m), The Dark Knight Rises (€2.02m), The Simpsons (€1.97m), Shrek the Third (€1.81m), Quantum of Solace (€1.75m), Shrek 2 (€1.68m), Skyfall (€1.6m), and The Dark Knight (€1.45m).
In addition to setting a record for 2015, Jurassic World is now the second-highest US opening of all time, right behind Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, which took $207.4m in 2012.
By the time Monday’s figures are updated, there is a chance the film could dethrone Avengers. Analysts had originally predicted that the film would post a $125m opening weekend.
“This overperformed in a way that I’ve never seen,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst with US media-measurement company Rentrak. “It broke the box office sound barrier.”
Universal Pictures and Legendary co-financed the $150m, 12A rated film. According to exit polls of American audiences, 39% of whose who went to see Jurassic World were under the age of 25, signifying the huge interest of a new generation and the continued enthusiasm of those who saw Jurassic Park in 1993.
While it is a box office hit, Jurassic World has divided the critics, scoring a 59% ‘mixed or average reviews’ rating from review aggregating website Metacritic.com.
Directed by Colin Trevorrow and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, Jurassic World is the third hit in a series of blockbusters for Pratt, who also starred in the 2014 box office hits Guardians of the Galaxy and The Lego Movie.
“He’s like Jimmy Stewart with a leather vest and muscles,” Dergarabedian said. “He’s a great modern-day action hero.”
It is unlikely that this is the last Jurassic film audiences will see. Pratt has stated in interviews that he has signed on for future installments.
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