‘Fallen Kingdom’ is the one film to challenge Disney’s superheroes
THE newest movie in the ‘Jurassic’ franchise didn’t just open big — it stomped the competition by topping box- office expectations.
Universal’s ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ had a domestic debut of US$ 150 million, according to studio estimates Sunday — the first non-Disney film of the year to open north of US$ 130 million.
That’s more than one-fourth off the US$ 208.8 million monster North American opening for the 2015 reboot ‘Jurassic World’ — but the new sequel had to hold off Pixar’s ‘ The Incredibles 2’, which grossed an estimated US$ 81 million in its second weekend, pushing its domestic total to US$ 350.4 million.
Plus, the most significant aspect of ‘Fallen Kingdom’ is its massive overseas appeal. The J. A. Bayona- directed sequel, which opened three weeks ago in some international markets, has already grossed US$ 711.5 million worldwide. Just how impressive is that? Well, by passing Fox’s ‘ Deadpool 2’ ( US$ 707.2 million worldwide), ‘Fallen Kingdom’ is already the third biggest film of the year; the biggest non-Disney film of the year; and the biggest non-superhero movie of 2018.
( Domestically, the year’s biggest non- superhero movie remains Disney’s ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, at US$ 202.7 million, but ‘Fallen Kingdom’ could well pass that next weekend.)
‘Fallen Kingdom’ should have clearance to top the box office till July 6 , when the sequel ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ opens, probably giving Disney its 14th weekend title since February.