‘Jurassic World’ Is Shattering Box Office Expectations

Jurassic World was expected to give the gloomy summer box office a jump start this weekend, but the amount of ticket sales it has experienced in its first day of release, as well as the special Thursday showings, are more than what analysts predicted.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Jurassic World was expected to bring in somewhere between $110 million and $140 million. The film opened a day earlier in China and saw a nice intake of $17.77 million from a combination of late night and first day showings. Analysts initially predicted that, by weekend’s end, Jurassic World could bring in an overseas total of $300 million.

Here in the U.S., Jurassic World opened nationwide in theaters today, and ticket sales have been far greater than expected. According to Deadline, the film could bring in between $60 million and $70 million on its first full day of release. Analysts are now predicting that Jurassic World could pull in around $155 million for the whole weekend.

Some analysts are predicting higher. According to the Hollywood Reporter, it’s likely that Jurassic World could pull in $162 million in its first weekend of release in the U.S., and $400 million from overseas markets. This would become the highest opening film so far this year for Universal Pictures, which has already had monster success with Furious 7 and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Jurassic World is the first film in the Jurassic Park franchise since 2001’s Jurassic Park 3. Colin Treverrow takes over the reins as director, and Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt headlines the cast. Other actors include Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Nick Robinson, and Ty Simpkins.

Jurassic World has been met with mixed reviews from critics, earning a 71 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone applauded the film and Treverrow for capturing the magic of the first film.

“Jurassic World will scare the hell out of you, and not just for the obvious reasons.”

But Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal said Jurassic World will certainly do well at the box office, even though the film has a “remarkably incoherent script.”

“Something should be said about the film’s cheesiness—it doesn’t even look good, though it sounds grand—and the shoddiness of its workmanship.”

Many Twitter users have posted their thoughts on Jurassic World, and a lot have had positive things to say about it.

22 years later, we get the sequel we deserve! #JurassicWorld

— Ryan (@PositivelyNerdy) June 13, 2015

When someone says a movie is “fun,” it’s usually death. But JURASSIC WORLD is fun, inventive and self aware to the MAX. Go @colintrevorrow!

— Seth Grahame-Smith (@sethgs) June 13, 2015

.@sethgs@colintrevorrow I find when I say a movie is fun, it is fun. JURASSIC WORLD is outrageously fun — Harry Knowles (@headgeek666) June 13, 2015

With Jurassic World already proving to be a hit this weekend, do you think word of mouth will be positive enough for a successful second weekend?

[Image credit: Universal Pictures via Variety]