Jurassic World is 2015’s Biggest Domestic Hit

In just three weeks, Jurassic World has accumulated over $500 million at the US box office alone, becoming 2015’s biggest domestic hit. While the blockbuster still sits below Furious 7 and Avengers: Age of Ultron at the worldwide box office, it’s only a matter of time before Jurassic World out-grosses those two money-making juggernauts. At this rate, Jurassic World will become one of the three highest-grossing movies of all time, contending against Titanic and Avatar.

No other anticipated summer movie has been able to take Jurassic World down subsequent to its release. Pixar’s Inside Out has been the runner-up for two weeks in a row now while Ted 2 opened this past weekend at #3. Jurassic World will probably start to finally drop when Terminator Genisys comes out on Wednesday, but even then it won’t stop raking in the big bucks. (On a side note, Inside Out is on track to become the highest-grossing movie to never reach #1 on the weekend box office chart. Of course that could change if if it does indeed rise above the competition within the next couple weeks.)

Although we all knew Jurassic World would be a huge hit, even the most optimistic box office analysts are likely surprised by how high this long-awaited sequel has climbed. We really shouldn’t be too shocked, though, seeing how Jurassic Park did become the biggest worldwide hit ever upon its release back in 1993. While there have been other entries in the Jurassic Park franchise over time, Jurassic World has felt like the only true followup. The combination of nostalgia, the jaw-dropping trailer, mostly positive word of mouth, and Chris Pratt being fresh off Guardians of the Galaxy have all helped the film to become a seemingly unstoppable box office force.

Speaking of “force,” Jurassic World probably shouldn’t get too comfortable atop 2015’s box office results as there’s another little movie coming out this December called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If there’s one thing that can take down the T-rex, it’s the Millennium Falcon. The original Star Wars of course became the highest-grossing movie of all time upon its release. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace didn’t become the new all time champ in 1999, but it did out-gross Jurassic Park. It also notably beat out The Lost World: Jurassic Park for the biggest single-day box office record. Being the year of the nostalgic blockbuster, we can definitely expect more box office déjà vu to come.