Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Was A Box Office Success

NOTE: Box office totals as of July 2, 2018

Now that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has been in theaters for a few weeks, it's safe to say the film was a box office success. After lying dormant for more than a decade after Jurassic Park III, the franchise saw a triumphant return with the first Jurassic World back in 2015. Directed by Colin Trevorrow, the film broke commercial records and ended its theatrical run with an impressive $1.6 billion haul. It's currently the fifth-highest grossing movie of all-time, trailing only the four members of the $2 billion club. Of course, its success meant followups were in order.

The plan is for Jurassic World to become a trilogy, with Fallen Kingdom marking the second installment. Typically, sequels to record-shattering blockbusters struggle to match their predecessor's performance. For instance, Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the highest-grossing movie of 2017, though its $1.3 billion global gross was nowhere near the $2 billion of The Force Awakens. Still, many expected Fallen Kingdom to do very well, and the numbers indicate it'll be one of the biggest films of the year.

Fallen Kingdom's Worldwide Gross

Universal made the decision to debut Fallen Kingdom in several international markets well before opening in the lucrative areas of China and North America. That decision paid off, with the film earning $151.1 million from 48 countries. The film continued to do well over the next several weeks, and by the time it premiered in most of the world, its global total was already past the $700 million mark. As of this writing, only four 2018 releases have crossed that plateau. Fallen Kingdom is in rather exclusive company with Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, and Deadpool 2.

Fallen Kingdom is even on the verge of giving the Jurassic franchise its second straight $1 billion hit. So far, its worldwide total is $943.5 million, meaning it needs to earn approximately $56.5 million to become the latest on the ever-expanding list. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up through July. There are a few genre films looking to make a splash, including Ant-Man and the Wasp, Skyscraper (starring box office king Dwayne Johnson), and Mission: Impossible - Fallout, that will all certainly take away business. And since Fallen Kingdom isn't exactly a critical darling or audience favorite, the odds of it having a plethora of repeat viewings are slim. Still, it wouldn't be surprising for Fallen Kingdom to reach $1 billion, perhaps in a slow crawl over the next few weeks. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't have much further to go.

Owen Grady and Blue in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

Even if Fallen Kingdom comes up just shy of $1 billion, the studio will still have cause for celebration. The sequel is most definitely a rousing smash. The reported production budget came in at $170 million, so by the traditional rule of thumb, Fallen Kingdom needed to cross $340 million in order to break even. It clearly has done that, and with the current global gross, the sequel has turned a profit of about $603.5 million. That is enough money to bankroll the productions of 3.5 more Fallen Kingdoms, so Universal can confidently move forward with the planned third entry for 2021. Jurassic World 2 is still early in its theatrical run, and other revenue sources like home media sales and TV rights have yet to come in. The profit margin is only going to get wider.

This development is great for Universal, though there's another layer here that's worth analyzing. Fallen Kingdom is at this point mainly because of how it's performed internationally, with nearly 71 percent of its intake coming from foreign countries. So, domestically, the film is having something of an uphill climb, though it doesn't appear as if that's going to have any negative effect on the franchise.

Page 2: Fallen Kingdom's Domestic Box Office

Fallen Kingdom Struggled Domestically

The original Jurassic World wasn't just one of the highest-grossing films all-time worldwide, it climbed its way up the domestic charts a few summers ago. Capitalizing on the pent-up demand for another Jurassic adventure, the soft reboot broke The Avengers' opening weekend record by posting $208.8 million in its first three days. Even as it went up against the beloved Inside Out, Jurassic World continued to draw in large crowds and concluded its time in theaters with $652.2 million in the U.S. That's good enough for sixth place on the all-time list, and it's one of only eight movie in history to earn $600+ million in North America. Unfortunately for Universal, these are figures Fallen Kingdom will fail to replicate.

Director J.A. Bayona's sequel got off to a solid start, earning $148 million in its opening weekend. That isn't in the same ballpark as the first World, but nobody expected Fallen Kingdom to soar that high. Jurassic got in trouble due to weak legs. It suffered a steep Friday-to-Friday drop, and its second weekend decline is the worst in the series so far. With the critically-acclaimed Incredibles 2 soaring high this summer, audiences were less interested in returning to the park than before. As indicated earlier, reviews for Fallen Kingdom were quite mixed, and that word-of-mouth hurt its box office prospects. The first Jurassic World wasn't heralded as a great tentpole, but it still earned a generally positive reception. Some people felt Fallen Kingdom was a worse film, giving casual audiences little incentive to rush to see it.

The drop-off couldn't have come at a more inopportune time, as Fallen Kingdom is about to face some high-profile competition for its target demographic. This weekend sees the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp, which is projected to earn more than its own 2015 predecessor (despite possibly being the lowest Phase 3 opening). Marvel Studios has been on a roll this year with Black Panther and Infinity War, so Ant-Man should continue that hot streak. Not only does Peyton Reed's film have the MCU pedigree behind it, it's also Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating it's of good quality. It'll certainly be the more appealing option for audiences in the early part of July. Mission: Impossible - Fallout should also be a solid hit, and Skyscraper has the aforementioned Dwayne Johnson factor working in its favor. Fallen Kingdom has a rough road ahead.

While it's hard to make the argument international viewers are tiring of dinosaur extravaganzas, fatigue may be settling in for domestic audiences. To date, Jurassic World 2 has grossed $247.2 million in the U.S., which is well below the pace of the first World ($414.3 million in 11 days). That bodes fairly ominously for Jurassic World 3, but it may not matter in the long run. Fallen Kingdom is another illustration of the importance of the worldwide box office. A movie doesn't need to rewrite the record books in America in order to go down as a hit. Of course, extra money certainly doesn't hurt, so perhaps Universal will take a look at what they can do for the third movie to ensure it performs a little better on the home front.

It's always a risky move for studios when they reveal longterm plans for franchises well in advance, but everything paid off handsomely for Jurassic World. With Fallen Kingdom nearing $1 billion, the filmmakers proved the astronomical success of the first one wasn't a fluke. From an artistic perspective, a case can be made they're smartly ending the series at three, but should they ever want to continue, they know they have the continued interest of moviegoers around the world. After five movies, the Jurassic property remain as strong as it's ever been.