“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” roared to $15.3 million at the Thursday box office, compared to “Jurassic World’s” preview number of $18.5 million in 2015.
Universal is projecting an opening weekend of $130-140 million, but multiple analysts who spoke with TheWrap said that competition from “Incredibles 2” could weigh down those numbers, with an opening of $120-130 million more likely. A $120-140 million start is around what the first “Jurassic World” was expected to make before it blew away expectations with a $208 million launch.
So far, the sequel has grossed $450.1 million worldwide, with markets including China, Germany, India, Malaysia, Russia, Spain and South Korea.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, Daniella Pineda, Geraldine Chaplin, James Cromwell and Toby Jones. J.A. Bayona directed, and Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow penned the script. Trevorrow, Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall produced.
The film is facing off against “The Incredibles 2,” which last weekend launched with $182.7 million, the eighth-highest opening weekend for any North American release and the third Disney film in 2018 to crack that top 10 list. On Monday, the sequel had the highest opening Monday in animation history with an industry-estimated $29.6 million.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” holds a score of 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, while the second “Incredibles” rated “fresh” at 94 percent.
Also opening in five theaters this weekend is “Boundaries,” which stars Vera Farmiga, Christopher Plummer, Kristen Schaal, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Lloyd and Peter Fonda. Fonda was heavily criticized this week after he tweeted that Barron Trump should be put in “a cage with pedophiles” in regards to Trump and his administration’s family separation policy against undocumented migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.
While distributor Sony Pictures Classics condemned the actor’s tweet as “abhorrent, reckless and dangerous,” it still decided to release the film, otherwise it would “unfairly penalize the filmmaker Shana Feste’s accomplishment, the many actors, crew members and other creative talent that worked hard on the project.”