When the first Jurassic World was released in 2015, it totally rocked the world at the box office. Not only did it wind up grossing nearly $1.7 billion globally, but it also broke the domestic opening weekend record with a $208.8 million start in its first three days. Now it's sequel, J.A. Bayona's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has hit theaters, and while it wasn't expected to put up quite the same numbers as its predecessor, it did still manage to make a crazy amount of money from Friday to Sunday. Check out the full Top 10 below and join me after for analysis!
The first Jurassic World had the benefit of the franchise laying dormant for nearly a decade-and-a-half, which ramped up excitement for its return, but Universal Pictures will definitely not be upset with the numbers posted by Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. It may be about $58 million less, but the film is already a major blockbuster, and positioned to be one of the biggest hits of the year. It's already been in theaters internationally for a few weeks, and it's global total now stands at $711.5 million - already big enough to make it the third most successful film of the year. It still has a long way to go if it is going to catch up to Avengers: Infinity War ($2.03 billion) and Black Panther ($1.3 billion), but it one hell of a start.
Of course, it helps that Hollywood basically cleared out room for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's dominance, as there were no other wide release movies out this week (though I will touch on its second week competition in a minute). As a result, the film was able to outpace expectations, as estimates suggested its haul would be somewhere more in the $135 million range. We'll have to wait and see what kind of legs it has, though, as there are still some big movies coming out in July, and professional critics didn't exactly fall in love with the feature (though it has gotten an "A-" on CinemaScore)
Because there were no other wide releases this week, the most significant competition for the new Jurassic World was Incredibles 2 - which was expected to take a sizeable chunk out of the apple thanks to its stunning $180 million weekend last time around. Clearly the chunk didn't wind up being as big as expected, though Pixar really has nothing to complain about either. The animated superhero movie dropped a modest 55.7% from week one to week two, but that still meant adding $80.9 million to its total. The blockbuster's global total now stands at $485 million, though its key to note that it has not yet been released in Europe or Japan.
Lastly I'll take the time to highlight the performance of Morgan Neville's Won't You Be My Neighbor?, which managed to sneak into the Top 10 this week despite only being out in less than 350 theaters nationwide. That being said, the success isn't too terribly surprising, as the movie has been getting raves everywhere. The documentary tells the story of the life and times of Fred Rogers, the host of the beloved children's program Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and it is a beautiful delight - highlighting the work of a truly genuine soul. It has an important positive message that one could argue the world very much needs right now, and it's great to see that people are buying tickets to see it on the big screen.
There's a very good chance that we could wind up seeing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom pull a repeat at the box office next week and once again claim the number one spot - but that doesn't mean there aren't some exciting titles on the way. Specifically, this Friday will see screens starting to show the thrilling sequel Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado, and the basketball comedy Uncle Drew. Be sure to come back next week to see how the Top 10 gets shaken up!
