“Jurassic World: Dominion” has scored an opening befitting Universal’s biggest franchise, earning $59.5 million from 4,676 screens on Friday for an estimated opening weekend of $142 million.
While that total is a few steps below the $148 million earned four years ago by “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” it has topped “The Batman” for the third-highest domestic opening of the COVID era and could still crack $150 million if Saturday matinee turnout exceeds expectations.
“Dominion” is also sharing another trait with its “Jurassic World” predecessors: it is proving to be critic-proof. While reviews for the film have been negative with a 32% Rotten Tomatoes score, “Jurassic” devotees have given it a thumbs up with an A- on CinemaScore — same as “Fallen Kingdom” — and an 81% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Moviegoers came to see dinosaurs and the original “Jurassic Park” cast on the big screen, and that’s exactly what they got.
While Universal is reeling in another huge blockbuster jackpot, the success of “Dominion” has not come at the expense of Paramount/Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” which is continuing its excellent theatrical run into its third weekend with an estimated $50 million. That’s another weekend-to-weekend drop of less than 50% despite the loss of premium format support to “Jurassic World” and puts the film in line to pass $400 million domestic early this coming week.
Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is also approaching the $400 million domestic mark, adding an estimated $4.8 million in its sixth weekend for a $397 million domestic total. The MCU film will have one more weekend of theatrical exclusivity before its release on Disney+ on June 22, likely finishing just short of $1 billion grossed worldwide.