How big a bite will “Jurassic World Rebirth” take out of the box office?
Though Universal’s dinosaur tentpole is expected to loom large in multiplexes across the globe, current projections are indicating that ticket sales won’t come close to nearing the heights of the initial “Jurassic World” trilogy, which was anchored by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard and concluded with 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion.”
“Jurassic World Rebirth,” the seventh installment in the prehistoric franchise, is aiming for $100 million to $125 million over the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend. (Although July 4th lands on Friday, the film is getting a head start on the weekend opening on Wednesday.) By comparison, 2015’s “Jurassic World” initially rebooted the classic sci-fi series with $208 million, while its sequels “Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom” debuted to $148 million in 2018 and “Jurassic World Dominion” launched to $145 million — and those were all three-day (not five-day) figures.
“Rebirth,” which resets the property again with Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, has some Tyrannosaurus-sized footprints to fill at the box office. All three films in the preceding “Jurassic World” trilogy have surpassed $1 billion globally. With an $180 million price tag, the newest installment in the 32-year-old property doesn’t need to join the billion dollar club to become a commercial success. But Universal likely wants “Rebirth” to spawn a new trilogy, and the studio needs to see sustained interest from moviegoers in order to justify that kind of commitment.
Directed by Gareth Edwards and written by original “Jurassic Park” screenwriter David Koepp, “Jurassic World Rebirth” revolves around a top-secret mission to locate the dinosaurs whose DNA holds the key to a revolutionary drug capable of curing heart disease. Reviews have been mixed (54% average on Rotten Tomatoes) though Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge felt “Rebirth” improved upon the prior trilogy. In his review, he wrote that “Gareth Edwards rejects the silliness of the previous three films, directing Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey through a series of tense, exciting set-pieces that hew closer to Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic.”
Another question on the box office front is where Brad Pitt’s “F1” will land in its second weekend of release. Apple’s racing drama is expected to stay strong even as “Jurassic World Rebirth” aims to loudly roar in multiplexes. “F1” revved to $57 million in its debut and looks to add a promising $30 million to $35 million in its second lap around the track.
Though “F1” was hugely expensive, costing roughly $250 million to produce, and requires a long theatrical life to turn a profit, these initial ticket sales have been encouraging for an original, adult-skewing tentpole. By the time Sunday rolls around, “F1” should outpace director Ridley Scott’s 2023 historical epic “Napoleon” ($221 million) as Apple’s highest-grossing movie to date.
