411 Box Office Report: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Opens With $150 Million For #1

Dinosaurs reigned at the box office this weekend as expected, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom overperforming for the #1 spot. The sequel to the 2015 megahit opened to $150 million, finishing above the $135 million predictions most analysts had going into the weekend. The three-day start is below the $208.8 million start for Jurassic World of course, but no one expected this film to beat the nostalgia factor of the original and the numbers represent a very solid first domestic weekend for the film.

Universal has nothing to worry about regarding Fallen Kingdom’s profit margin, especially when you consider that the film already has $561.5 million overseas after three weekends for a $711.5 million worldwide total. Even on a $170 million production budget plus heavy marketing, it’s already somewhere around breakeven and is going to be a big hit for the studio. This one was always going to be a lesser performer than Jurassic World because it didn’t have the years of anticipation built up that its predecessor did.

Jurassic World also had less competition in its opening weekend as well, with its closest direct competition being San Andreas which was already in its third week at that point. In comparison, Fallen Kingdom had to deal with The Incredibles 2’s second weekend for the family market, which is a strong demographic for the dino-heavy franchise. While critics didn’t love this one at the level of the last one (50% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to 71% for Jurassic World), word of mouth stayed strong with an A- CinemaScore.

The positive word of mouth means good things for this film’s box office legs, as does the fact that it doesn’t have any huge competition until Ant-Man and the Wasp in two weeks. At this point it seems likely to match the approximate 3.1 multiple of its predecessor. That would be good for $450 million to $460 million or so in the US, a good result that will certainly allow this franchise to continue.

The Incredibles 2 felt the bite of the Indoraptor, as the Pixar sequel fell 56% in its second weekend to a $80.9 million second weekend. That’s on par with the 56% drop for Shrek the Third, but above the likes of fellow Pixar films Finding Dory (46%) and Toy Story 3 (46%). It’s by no means a disastrous result, and seems to largely be because of the family crowd that pushed Fallen Kingdom to its level. Even with the drop, Incredibles 2 has $350.4 million domestically on its way to a probably $580 million to $600 million, and a current worldwide total of $485.1 million. The budget was $200 million.

Ocean’s 8 is on an impressive run at the box office, as it slipped just 39% in its third weekend with $11.7 million. The Ocean’s Eleven spin-off is making a case for franchise potential, bringing its totals to $100.4 million domestically and $171 million worldwide on a $70 million budget. At this point, the film looks to be targeting $125 million to $130 million, making it likely the second-best grossing film in the franchise behind only the first one.

Warner Bros.’ Tag was down an okay 45% in its second weekend to bring in $8.2 million. The ensemble film isn’t in terrible shape at this point, with positive word of mouth seeming to carry it to some solid legs. The $28 million-budgeted drama is currently up to $30.4 million domestically and $31.9 million worldwide, with a likely $45 million final domestic total. As long as foreign box office comes in as expected, this will be a small profit for the studio.

Deadpool 2 was down 40% in its sixth weekend with $5.3 million. The X-Men spinoff sequel is up to $304.2 million domestically and $707.2 million worldwide, a clear hit on its $110 million budget. It should keep its projections for $315 million in the US on track.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is fading away as it dropped 60% in its fifth weekend to $4 million. The Star Wars prequel has now grossed $202.2 million domestically and $353.5 million worldwide, not enough to bring it to an eventual profit margin considering the $250 million budget. It is still aiming for around $215 million domestically by the end of its run.

Hereditary continues to have decent holds, down 44% to $3.8 million. The Toni Collette-led film has brought in $35 million domestically and $48.2 million worldwide. $45 million is in reach domestically for this film, a hit on a $10 million budget.

Superfly dropped by half in its second weekend, off 51% to $3.4 million. The remake has to climb its way to profit; it now sits at $15.3 million and has a $16 million budget. It should be able to make it to around $22 million.

Avengers: Infinity War continues its ascent, as it was off 54% to $2.5 million in week nine. The MCU film is now at $669.5 million domestically and $2.03 billion worldwide. It should make it to $675 million at the least in the US. The budget was $300 million.

The Mr. Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? expanded in its third weekend and scored up enough to make the top ten. The film about the famed television kid’s host rode a wave of ecstatic reviews, putting it at 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, to climb the charts and land at $1.9 million. The Focus Features documentary is up to $4.1 million domestically and could climb into the $10 million-plus range — on par with this year’s RBG — if it continues to platform well. No word on the budget.

Next weekend will certainly see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom reign again. The film’s new competition are Scario: Day of the Soldado and basketball comedy Uncle Drew, both of which are targeting the mid-teens range.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – $150 million ($150 million total)
2. The Incredibles 2 – $80.9 million ($350.4 million total)
3. Ocean’s 8 – $11.7 million ($100.4 million total)
4. Tag – $8.2 million ($30.4 million total)
5. Deadpool 2 – $5.3 million ($304.2 million total)
6. Solo: A Star Wars Story – $4 million ($202.2 million total)
7. Hereditary – $3.8 million ($35 million total)
8. Superfly – $3.4 million ($15.3 million total)
9. Avengers: Infinity War – $2.5 million ($339.5 million total)
10. Won’t You Be My Neighbor – $1.9 million ($4.1 million total)