‘Jurassic World’sets global record with $511.8 m debut

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com): There’s a new king in town. ‘Jurassic World’ opened to a staggering $511.8 million worldwide, the highest global bow of all time. It marks the first time a film has ever grossed more than $500 million in a single weekend.

The dinosaur thriller is the top ranking film from sea to shining sea, after opening in first place in North America and across all 66 international territories where it debuted.

“Dinosaurs are fascinating to everyone,” said Nick Carpou, President of Domestic Distribution at Universal. “It’s cross-cultural.”

Domestically, ‘Jurassic World’ scored the second biggest debut in history with $204.8 million, nipping at the heels of ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’’ $207.4 million bow. Its international weekend estimate also takes runner-up position on the all-time charts. The $307.2 million ‘Jurassic World’ generated trails the $314 million racked up by ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2’.

Those international results were boosted by a mammoth $100 million opening in China. Other openings of note include the United Kingdom and Ireland with $29.6 million; Mexico with $16.2 million; Korea with $14.4 million; France with $12.5 million; Australia with $12.1 million; and Germany with $11 million. The only major territory remaining is Japan, where ‘Jurassic World’ will roar on August 5.

In terms of premium formats, Imax put up a record-setting international weekend of $23.5 million, and 3D screenings accounted for 50% of the global bounty.

“People should call dinosaurs the original superheroes,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “They are just as big as Iron Man or Superman or Batman right now.”