'Jurassic World' has been one of the most anticipated movies of the year, but there was a lot of speculation whether the movie could cover its huge production and marketing costs. The first weekend answered all the questions revenue-wise, as the reboot/sequel of the dinosaur franchise has exceeded all expectations by reaching 512 million dollars worldwide.
This not only meant that 'Jurassic World' doubled the original weekend estimate, but also became the second largest US box office opening with $204.6 million (behind 'Marvel's The Avengers' $207.4 million) and the first movie in history to pass the $500 million mark worldwide during its first weekend (It debuted to a massive $100 million in China and opened in first place in all 66 international territories where the film was released.)
Hence, the dinosaur movie had the largest opening weekend that distributor Universal and its biggest co-financer Legendary has ever had, surpassing this year's surprise hit 'Furious 7' and the Dark Knight films.
The movie also received positive criticism, including a strong 70% from Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 7.6/10 on IMDB, which means it will keep rolling in the upcoming weeks and will undoubtedly pass the $1 billion mark and make its way into the top 10 highest grossing movies of all time.
The success of 'Jurassic World' is also great news for Chris Patt, who plays the lead role in the new dinosaur flick. The 35-year-old actor became known for his television roles in 'Everwood' (2002-2006), in 'The O.C.' (2006-2007), and in 'Parks and Recreation' (2009-2015), but only started playing in movies a few years ago.
He had supporting roles in 'Moneyball' (2011), 'Zero Dark Thirty' (2012) and 'Delivery Man' (2013), and received his first lead role only last year, in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2014), which became a box office success.
The actor has now successfully continued to build his fame, and has proven again that he is capable of carrying a movie on his back (a fact that could be useful if he is to be reprising Indiana Jones in the upcoming movies).
