The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Photos and text from wire services sits at just 50 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes but received an A-minus CinemaScore from audiences.
Universal Pictures, which is planning a third “Jurassic World” film, heavily promoted the $170 million production. Drawing audiences equally young and old, male and female, and from a diverse array of ethnicities, “Fallen Kingdom” played like a classic crowd-pleaser.
“We’re seeing exit polls that indicate all quadrants came out to see this movie,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s distribution chief. “The majority of the audience was under 25. Obviously, we’re playing very broadly, and to families overall, and so thus the result at the very high end of our expectations.”
The domestic opening is the secondbest for the 106-year-old Universal. It only follows “Jurassic World,” which went on to make nearly $1.7 billion for the studio.
After notching the biggest opening ever for an animated release last weekend, Brad Bird’s “Incredibles 2” held on strongly considering the family-film competition. Its global gross is now up to $485 million, including a $21.2 million debut in China, a Pixar best.
The female-fronted heist film “Ocean’s 8,” starring Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett, crossed $100 million domestically, with $11.7 million in its third week. Thanks to drive-in double-features with “Incredibles 2,” Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” also cleared the $100 million milestone, a first for a black female director.