It’s the middle of summer, Fourth of July week is here, and Universal has just premiered a new Jurassic World movie aiming to recapture the magic of the original Spielberg films. The original writer of the first Jurassic Park, David Koepp, returns and explained, “I was afraid of going in and feeling like a sad sack trying to recapture a feeling I had 30 years ago — that was appropriate to who I was then but not appropriate to who I am now And I was very happy to see, that within a few days of starting writing, it was totally appropriate. I really like that feeling.” Koepp also added that he felt rejuvenated after returning to his Jurassic roots. So, does it succeed? It’s up to the audience.
Jurassic World: Rebirth opened on a Wednesday and Deadline reports that the dinosaur adventure film has bagged $28 million for its opening day, not taking early Tuesday previews into account. For a holiday opening, it didn’t set the world on fire, but it did best last July’s Wednesday opening of Despicable Me 4, which brought in $27.2 million. That film, which is from a franchise that’s reliably popular with kids and families, turned that Wednesday into a 3-day total of $75 million, and a 5-day total of $122.6 million. Box office estimates put Jurassic World: Rebirth in the range of $77.5 million at 3-days, and $127.5 million at 5-days.
Reviews for the film aren’t overwhelmingly positive as it’s garnering a 53% aggregate from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience rating of 74%. Our Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bumbray, was one who wasn’t too thrilled by the finished product, as he said in his review, “While Rebirth isn’t as ridiculous as Dominion, it’s likely a duller film overall—with less action, fewer scenes for its stars, and a flat visual style. […] It’s a shame, because Gareth Edwards is a talented filmmaker, but this one feels more like his lifeless Godzilla reboot than any of his more imaginative efforts. One of the summer’s bigger disappointments, Jurassic World: Rebirth might finally prove that this is a franchise in need of a long break.”
