Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom saw the franchise's biggest second-weekend decline at the box office. During its first three days, the fifth installment of the Jurassic Park series scored a robust $148 million domestically, though that was nowhere near the record-breaking numbers of its 2015 predecessor. Many were curious to see how Fallen Kingdom would hold in the early stages of its run, especially since the critical reception was decidedly mixed.

The film was hit with some bad news recently, after it saw a 71 percent Friday-to-Friday drop (in the ballpark of Solo: A Star Wars Story). That development indicated American audiences weren't so impressed by what they were seeing, which ended up being an ominous harbinger. Though Fallen Kingdom won the box office for a second straight weekend, the occasion isn't much cause for celebration.

Per Box Office Mojo, Fallen Kingdom earned $60 million this weekend. That's a 59.5 percent decrease from its debut, which is the steepest second weekend fall in the series. For comparison's sake, the first Jurassic World fell 49 percent in its second weekend, illustrating the demand for Fallen Kingdom is nowhere near as high. Even Jurassic Park III (the lowest-grossing effort in the franchise) held better with 55.6 percent. Steven Spielberg saw declines of 18.2 percent (Jurassic Park) and 52.7 percent (The Lost World) when he called the shots on dinosaur adventures.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's Indoraptor

At first glance, this seems like a concern for Universal, but the situation isn't dire in the slightest. Thanks to international grosses, Fallen Kingdom is an enormous hit, already hitting $932.3 million globally against a budget of $170 million. It's already proven to be a profitable endeavor for the studio, meaning whatever slide Fallen Kingdom has Stateside shouldn't really impact development on Jurassic World 3Fallen Kingdom is knocking on the door of the $1 billion club, which would make two consecutive $1 billion smashes for the Jurassic series. Despite how things look in North America, it's hard to make a case Fallen Kingdom saw diminishing returns. It was never going to top Jurassic World, so this is probably the best-case scenario.

That being said, it's probably for the best Colin Trevorrow and company are envisioning Jurassic World as a trilogy. The word-of-mouth surrounding Fallen Kingdom suggests several are under the impression this premise is wearing thin and there isn't much more for the filmmakers to do. Hopefully, the creative team will be able to use Fallen Kingdom's controversial ending as a springboard for a compelling narrative to end the series on a high note, before putting it to bed for good. Just because Universal can keep churning out Jurassic movies doesn't mean they should.

MORE: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom's Post-Credits Scene Is One of the Weakest Ever

Source: Box Office Mojo

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