More than three decades later, dinosaurs still rule, as Jurassic World Rebirth clearly showed this past weekend. The seventh entry in Universal Pictures’ dino-franchise dominated the weekend box office yet again, just as it did when Steven Spielberg‘s game-changing Jurassic Park opened in 1993.
“That some 32 years after the original Jurassic Park movie opened in theaters, the latest cinematic iteration of the venerable Jurassic movie franchise could open at number one is nothing short of miraculous,” Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst at Comscore, tells NBC Insider. “Moviegoers are bonded by a desire to see prehistoric monsters on the biggest screen possible, and that’s great news for theaters benefiting from the nostalgia-fueled interest the Jurassic brand instills in audiences today — much like in 1993, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth… and the box office.”
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What did Jurassic World Rebirth make at the box office in its opening weekend?
Jurassic World Rebirth proved that audiences still crave prehistoric action with a global debut of $318 million over the long holiday weekend. On the domestic side of things, the film grossed $147.3 million at the box office over the five-day stretch between July 1-6.
The blockbuster sequel, helmed by Rogue One‘s Gareth Edwards, nabbed $91.5 million over the traditional three-day frame (i.e. Friday through Sunday), making it the fourth-largest North American opening for the series after Jurassic World Dominion (now streaming on Peacock).
Boasting an original script from Jurassic Park and The Lost World screenwriter David Koepp, Rebirth picks up half a decade after the events of Dominion. Unable to cope with our planet’s contemporary climate, the dinosaurs that escaped at the end of Fallen Kingdom have begun to die out.
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The remaining creatures survive in isolated pockets near the equator — the most notable hotspot being Ile Saint-Hubert, which served as InGen’s original R&D hub for the original park. Following a tragic security breach nearly 20 years before, however, the facility was abandoned, allowing the mutated rejects to flourish unchecked.
Hoping to turn DNA from three of the largest specimens — Mosasaurus, Titanosaurus, and Quetzalcoatlus — into a revolutionary treatment for heart disease, a pharmaceutical company with deep pockets launches an off-the-books expedition to the island. Tempted with a king’s ransom by the corporation’s oily rep Martin Krebs (Asteroid City‘s Rupert Friend), special ops soldier turned mercenary-for-hire Zora Bennett (Black Widow‘s Scarlett Johansson) agrees to lead the adventure alongside an old colleague, boat captain Duncan Kincaid (Moonlight‘s Mahershala Ali), and paleontologist, Dr. Henry Loomis (Wicked‘s Jonathan Bailey).
As you might expect, the high-risk excursion goes sideways almost immediately, with the human characters underestimating the giant lizards and learning what it’s like to be at the very bottom of the food chain.
Rebirth also stars Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool) as the members of Duncan’s maritime crew. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty), and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs. Lopez) round out the ensemble as a shipwrecked family that crosses paths with the mercenaries.
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Spielberg served as executive producer on the movie with Denis L. Stewart and Jim Spencer. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley were producers.
Jurassic World Rebirth is now playing in theaters everywhere. Click here to pick up tickets! Want to stroll down memory lane? The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies are now streaming on Peacock.
