Universal’s Jurassic World will rule the box office when it opens this weekend to a projected $125 million across 4,273 theaters.
Universal is being more conservative and saying it expects a debut north of $100 million.
It’s been over a decade since Jurassic Park III hit theaters, but this chapter returns the series to Isla Nublar.
Universal has spared no expense hyping the sequel to the hilt, launching spots last November and pushing a well-received Super Bowl spot. It seems to have paid off. Advance ticket sales are sizzling, with Fandango reporting that Jurassic World is outpacing each of the summer 2014 blockbusters at the same point in their sales cycle.
That ranks as the studio’s widest release ever, and the fourth installment in the franchise should dominate the globe as well, bowing in 66 international territories, including major markets like China, Mexico, U.K., Brazil, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Korea and Russia. Jurassic World might gross $350 million in receipts by Monday.
There is consensus that Jurassic World will be huge, but guessing just how massive is a tough task.
“We’re heading into the same territory where we were with ‘Avengers,’ where things are getting out of control with the numbers,” said Phil Contrino, vice president at BoxOffice.com. “It’s not a matter of whether or not people are interested. It’s how much they like it. Word-of-mouth will dictate how much it explodes.”
Legendary Pictures co-financed the $150 million production, which stars Chris Pratt, hot off of last summer’s “Guardians of the Galaxy, along with Vincent D’Onofrio and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Colin Trevorrow, who made waves with the Sundance favorite “Safety Not Guaranteed,” directs.
Jurassic World has the weekend to itself, as studios steered clear of the mighty beasts, the better to not find their prized tentpoles devoured.
That will leave last weekend’s champ, Spy, hoping to carve out a niche. The Fox comedy had positive reviews, but only debuted to a $29 million. It should generate $15 million in its sophomore weekend.
San Andreas could face stiffer competition from Jurassic World, and will likely slip to $12 million.
