Dino might: 'Jurassic World Dominion' snatches box office from 'Top Gun' (updated)
Updated with late Monday figures: As expected, Jurassic World Dominion (NASDAQ:CMCSA) stomped and clawed its way to the box-office lead over the weekend, outpacing the high end of expectations with an opening of $145.1 million.
That estimate fell just shy of the $148 million opening of the film's immediate predecessor, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. (The new film wraps up the second trilogy of a six-film franchise that dates to Jurassic Park in 1993.)
It was enough to displace the two-week champion Top Gun: Maverick (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA). Jurassic World Dominion opened in the third-highest total theaters ever, 4,676, while Top Gun: Maverick had opened on a record number of screens two weeks ago.
That's no ding on Paramount's fast-flying sequel, which is holding business in very strong fashion. Top Gun: Maverick made $51.9 million to land in second place - a truly impressive figure considering not only that it was the film's third weekend in theaters, but also that theaters had to make room for the giant dinosaur rollout - and that Top Gun had to yield some premium-format screens to the new movie. But it's reflecting another trait of Tom Cruise movies, which typically hold later-weekend business better than most.
Top Gun: Maverick (PARA) (PARAA) has now hit $395.2 million in cumulative domestic grosses, and an aircraft-appropriate $747 million worldwide (again, without opening in Russia or China).
Meanwhile, Jurassic World Dominion has added another $247.4 million internationally after an early bow overseas; its worldwide total after the weekend domestic opening has hit $392.5 million.
Jurassic World Dominion (CMCSA) has been critically savaged with the worst reviews of the franchise, but exiting audiences seem satisfied, giving it an A- CinemaScore grade. Top Gun: Maverick (PARA) (PARAA), by contrast, is impressing critics and audiences alike.
As expected with two heavyweights squaring off, other films grabbed for scraps. The third-best weekend performer was Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (DIS) with $5.2 million, while The Bob's Burgers Movie (DIS) was narrowly aced out by animated Universal (CMCSA) comedy The Bad Guys, $2.53 million to $2.47 million.
Speaking of premium screens, IMAX (IMAX) zoomed to a $25 million opening showing the dinosaur movie. That included $12.3 million in North America and $6.3 million in China, just over 12% of the film's box office there (and its biggest Hollywood opening in China in more than a year despite some new COVID restrictions).
Comcast (CMCSA) is escaping the worst of the market's declines today, down just 2.4%, while Paramount is taking it worse: (PARA) -7.6%; (PARAA) -7.3%.
Exhibitor stocks that would ordinarily be rolling after an impressive box-office weekend are also instead caught up in today's sell-off: AMC Entertainment (AMC
-7.4%); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWF
-10.0%); Cinemark (CNK
-4.2%); (IMAX
-6.2%); Marcus (MCS
-1.7%); Reading International (RDI
-2.2%); Cineplex (OTCPK:CPXGF
-5.2%); National CineMedia (NCMI
-8.3%).