Movie Reviews and Movie News

Reviews and news of films, DVDs and videos featuring dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and other things of interest to fans of dinosaurs and palaeontologists by team members of Everything Dinosaur.

23 06, 2022

“Jurassic World Dominion” Reviewed

By Mike| 2022-10-21T09:51:26+01:00 June 23rd, 2022|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Movie Reviews and Movie News, Photos|0 Comments

“Jurassic World Dominion” was released in UK cinemas on June 10th (2022), Everything Dinosaur team members were able to take time away from their busy schedule to watch the film yesterday (June 22nd). The film reunites many of the characters from the original “Jurassic Park” movie and there are several new prehistoric animals, recreated by a combination of animatronics and computer-generated images (CGI).

The film’s release had been delayed due to the global pandemic, but dinosaur aficionados and fans of the earlier movies have had the chance to see, what has been billed as the final instalment of the franchise.

Ultimately, T. rex is the star of the latest instalment in the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” franchise despite the appearance of numerous theropods including for the first time, Therizinosaurus and Giganotosaurus. Picture credit: Universal Studios.

Pyroraptor, Giganotosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus and Therizinosaurus

Lots of new prehistoric animals are featured, dinosaurs such as Giganotosaurus, Dreadnoughtus, Therizinosaurus, Atrociraptor and Pyroraptor. Some of these dinosaurs have been given feathers, perhaps a nod to criticisms of the integuments of the “raptors” seen in early incarnations of the franchise.

Jurassic World Dominion Pyroraptor — *The feathered Pyroraptor from the film “Jurassic World Dominion”. Picture credit: Universal Studios.*

Without giving away too many spoilers, the giant pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus and the sail-finned synapsid Dimetrodon also appear.

The film has garnered mix reviews from the critics, but movie-goes have been more generous with their praise. The film is currently showing a rating of 77% on the Rotten Tomatoes website. “Jurassic World Dominion” has certainly done very well at the box office. Earlier this week, global ticket sales passed the $600 million USD mark.

Paying Tribute to Earlier Films

“Jurassic World Dominion” might be a bit of chimera of a movie (reminiscent of the prehistoric animals with their genomes sourced from a variety of creatures). There are scenes that parody James Bond, Indiana Jones and “Taken” and whilst regarded by many as a “light, enjoyable romp”, fans of the franchise will have noted the numerous tributes paid to earlier films in this series.

Our particular favourite was when the character Ellie Sattler, played by Laura Dern, takes off her sunglasses in astonishment at what she is seeing, reflecting a similar scene from “Jurassic Park” that marks the first time the scientists see a dinosaur.

Actress Laura Dern in "Jurassic World Dominion" — Actress Laura Dern reprises her role as Ellie Sattler from “Jurassic Park”. The latest film “Jurassic World Dominion” pays homage to the original 1993 movie, in this scene Laura removes her sunglasses recreating an iconic moment from “Jurassic Park”. *Picture credit: Universal Studios.*

Is the Film Franchise Extinct?

With a running time of 2 hours and 27 minutes, this is the longest film in the “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” franchise. Despite being billed as the final instalment and supposed to bring closure, team members at Everything Dinosaur suspect that, with it having made four times its estimated budget in ticket sales thus far, the commercial appeal of dinosaurs might result in a resurrection.

Just like the avian dinosaurs, this film franchise might not be extinct…

Three days since a Tyrannosaurus rex attack. — *A site safety notice at our local cinema spotted at the entrance as team members went to see “Jurassic World Dominion”. It is pleasing to note that Everything Dinosaur has a better safety record!*

4 06, 2022

Mary Anning and the “Sea Dragon”

By Mike| 2022-10-21T10:10:56+01:00 June 4th, 2022|Adobe CS5, Dinosaur Fans, Famous Figures, Main Page, Movie Reviews and Movie News, Photos|0 Comments

The 2022 Cheltenham Science Festival is due to begin on Tuesday, 7th June (2022) and the award-winning director James Morgan’s film “Sea Dragon” will be featured. This delightful short tells the story of Mary Anning’s ground-breaking fossil discovery that challenged the worldview of 19th century England.

The film will be shown as part of Dr Dean Lomax’s presentation entitled “Mary Anning and the Sea Dragons” which is taking place at the Helix Auditorium on the evening of the 8th of June (2022).

Sea Dragon - a natural history heist. — “Sea Dragon” – a natural history heist. The film is directed by James Morgan and produced by Terhi Kylliainen. Starring Kiara Holley-Paliano as Mary Anning, Harvey Dean as Joseph Anning and Nathaniel Parker as Mr Fairfax it tells the story of a fossil discovery in the cliffs along the Dorset coast and the ideological battle that commences when its significance is brought to light. *Picture credit: Becklow Films, design by Matt Needle.*

A Changing World – A Changing Society

Set in 1812, on the stunningly beautiful Dorset coast, young fossil hunter Mary Anning (played by Kiara Holley-Paliano) finds herself locked in an ideological battle with a devious auctioneer (Nathanial Parker) over the fate of an ichthyosaur fossil specimen.

The auctioneer considers the fossil skull to be from a crocodile, but Mary thinks differently, and our feisty protagonist sets out with her brother Joseph to rescue the specimen. This is the story of a young girl with the courage to challenge convention. A person not prepared to accept the doctrine of the time but to consider the evidence of her own eyes and in a beautifully conceived scene set in a Georgian drawing room, to confront the accepted view of the world.

Mary Anning "Sea Dragon"" — *Kiara Holley-Paliano as Mary Anning portrayed in the film “Sea Dragon” directed by James Morgan. Picture credit: Becklow Films.*

Exploring New Worlds

At its heart, “Sea Dragon” is an archetypal story of how an individual can force society to change. Directed by James Morgan, an award-winning director of film and television, this short film explores new worlds both social and palaeontological. Mary Anning, who rarely received any credit for her discoveries during her lifetime, helped to erode established beliefs about how the world was ordered. She challenged Georgian society. Her contribution to the nascent sciences of palaeontology and geology eroded long held and established views as surely as the Dorset cliffs with their fossil treasures crumble into the sea.

Sea Dragon Movie Poster — Sea Dragon (short, 2021). A young fossil hunter Mary Anning makes a ground-breaking discovery, challenging the worldview of 19th century England. Picture credit: Becklow Films, design by rathbleedart.

Commenting on the significance of this short, Director James Morgan stated:

“I hope the film does justice to the spirit of Mary Anning, and also poses questions about the
assumptions that still lay buried in our own foundations. As the ground continues to move
beneath our feet – we can only hope that we have learnt to listen to the small voice in the
corner of the room. Because small voices with the courage to see things differently are the most
powerful catalysts of positive change.”

Film director James Morgan. — *James Morgan the director of the short film “Sea Dragon”. Championing the small voice in the corner of the room. Picture credit: Ben Sadd.*

Our thanks to producer Terhi Kylliainen for her assistance in the compilation of this article.

“Sea Dragon” will be shown as part of Dr Dean Lomax’s presentation entitled “Mary Anning and Sea Dragons” at the Cheltenham Science Festival 2022 (Helix Auditorium, 5pm on the 8th of June).

The film website: The Film “Sea Dragon”.

The website of the director: James Morgan Film Director and Photographer.

23 05, 2022

Prehistoric Planet – Television Series

By Mike| 2023-02-08T08:20:05+00:00 May 23rd, 2022|Adobe CS5, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Movie Reviews and Movie News, Photos, Press Releases|0 Comments

Tonight, sees the first episode of the stunning documentary series “Prehistoric Planet” being aired on Apple TV+. Five programmes will be shown over the next five nights, each one at around forty minutes in length, will focus on a different habitat, starting this evening with “coasts”. Subsequent programmes will look at the prehistoric ecosystems associated with deserts, freshwater, the polar dinosaurs (ice worlds) and the series concludes with an episode entitled “forests”.

The television series “Prehistoric Planet” starts on May 23rd (2022). The programmes are narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Picture credit: Apple TV.

Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, executive producers Jon Favreau and Michael Gunton have set a new benchmark in natural history documentaries, following in the footsteps of the seminal BBC television series “Walking with Dinosaurs” that first hit our television screens back in 1997.

We at Everything Dinosaur would like to congratulate all those involved in this astonishing series that has been a decade in the making.

Enjoy.

16 03, 2020

Coronavirus Fears Brings a Halt to Jurassic World Three

By Mike| 2020-03-16T11:42:51+00:00 March 16th, 2020|Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Movie Reviews and Movie News|0 Comments

Film Project Stopped as a Precaution

One of the consequences of the global coronavirus outbreak is that many film projects have been halted in their tracks. It has been announced that filming on “Jurassic World: Dominion”, the third movie in the reprised “Jurassic Park/Jurassic World” film franchise has been postponed until further notice. Everything Dinosaur understands that some filming had taken place in Canada and a set built at Pinewood Studios (London), but all filming has been stopped and a decision as to when production will start again will be taken in a few weeks.

Filming Halted on “Jurassic World: Dominion”

Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum will reprise their roles in the forthcoming film. However, Gennaro (pictured far left), played by Martin Ferrero, is not going to return in “Jurassic World: Dominion”, his part in the franchise was ended by a hungry T. rex in the 1993 film “Jurassic Park”.

Picture Credit: Getty Images

Filming Commenced on February 25th (2020)

Filming had started in Canada on February 25th (2020). Director Colin Trevorrow confirmed this in a message on his Instagram account. Over recent years, several science fiction/adventure films have been shot in Canada, dubbed “the Hollywood of the north” by some movie insiders.

Jurassic World 3 is just one of several major film and television projects that have had to be suspended due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. The film was due to be released in the United States on June 11th 2021, with a release date in the UK of June 21st. It is not known at this time, whether the postponements will result in a delay in the release in the film.

A Monster Hit!

When “Jurassic World” was released in June 2015, it become the first film in movie history to take more than $500 million USD in its opening weekend. The film went onto gross a total of $1.6 billion USD in box office revenues across the world. The second film in this trilogy “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, released in 2018, was nearly as successful. Although the film received mixed reviews, it went onto gross $1.3 billion USD in box office receipts. Analysts are expecting the third film, which is expected to be the final instalment, “Jurassic World: Dominion”, to continue the financial success story, after all, as a team member from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“People just love dinosaurs”.

“Jurassic World: Dominion” sees a number of the original actors and actresses in the “Jurassic Park” film of 1993 reprising their roles. Steven Spielberg is expected to continue his role as executive producer. Dinosaur fans and movie goers may have to wait just a little bit longer to see the final film.

12 08, 2018

In Praise of “Meg”

By Mike| 2018-08-12T13:56:21+01:00 August 12th, 2018|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Everything Dinosaur Products, Everything Dinosaur videos, Main Page, Movie Reviews and Movie News, Photos of Everything Dinosaur Products|0 Comments

Megalodon Makes it to the Big Screen

This weekend sees the opening of the summer blockbuster “Meg”, a prehistoric shark-based action movie featuring Jason Statham and a twenty-five-metre-long representation of Carcharocles megalodon – Megalodon, an extinct species of prehistoric shark, so famous that it is just known by its specific or trivial name. With the film likely to make in excess of £30 million in box office receipts on just its opening weekend in the USA, the movie, which incidentally is the most expensive shark film ever made (estimated budget of around $130 million USD), is likely to be a runaway box office success. However, this iconic marine monster is well and truly extinct, it really is “safe to enter the water” to borrow a strapline from perhaps, the best-known and best-loved shark movie of them all, the 1975 “Jaws”.

Warner Bros and director Jon Turteltaub may have resurrected Megalodon, but most palaeontologists will confidently tell you that, what was probably the largest carnivorous shark to have existed, died out around 2.6 million years ago.

When those talented people as Safari Ltd introduced a “Megalodon” model back in 2014, Everything Dinosaur put together a short video introduction to the model.

Everything Dinosaur’s Video Review of the Wild Safari Dinos Megalodon Model

Video Credit: Everything Dinosaur

We may have lacked the budget of the movie and unfortunately, we were unable to afford the services of Jason Statham, but our six minute video review set out to explain a little more about the science behind this prehistoric shark and to provide a guide to the Wild Safari Prehistoric World Megalodon model.

Carcharocles megalodon

Many marine biologists had believed that Carcharocles megalodon was closely related to the modern Great White Shark – Carcharodon carcharias (hence Everything Dinosaur’s original research into finding a suitable Megalodon model). However, recent studies suggest that it was actually a member of another sub-branch of the Lamniformes Order and that Megalodon was a member of the Otodontidae family and not a member of the Lamnidae family as previously thought. It may have had a similar lifestyle and habit to the Great White Shark and it was much bigger and heavier, but it was unlikely to have been around twenty-five metres in length, the size of Megalodon in the movie.

A Still from the Motion Picture “Meg”

A still from the 2018 summer blockbuster “Meg”.

Picture Credit: Warner Bros

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“If these giant, prehistoric sharks were still around today, then, as we suspect they were shallow water specialists living in the top two hundred metres of water, the upper portions of the epipelagic zone of the ocean, then they certainly would have been spotted by now. The “Meg” is very much extinct and we are sure that the film will provide plenty of thrills and spills for cinema goers. Perhaps, it will also raise awareness amongst its audience about the plight of many shark species today. Over fishing, habitat loss and pollution are having a devastating effect on global shark populations. It has been estimated that some 100 million sharks die each year, with luck this movie will raise awareness about shark species conservation.”

The Jaws of Megalodon

Reconstructed jaws of a Megalodon shark (human gives scale).

Picture Credit: Rex Features

Safari Ltd have produced an excellent replica of this prehistoric shark, to view the model and the rest of the amazing figures in the Wild Safari Dinos Prehistoric World collection: Safari Ltd. Wild Safari Prehistoric World

The Wild Safari Prehistoric World Megalodon Figure

Wild Safari Prehistoric World Megalodon model.

Fearsome C. megalodon

Picture Credit: Everything Dinosaur

14 02, 2018

The Very First Edition of “Prehistoric Times”

By Mike| 2018-02-14T18:36:41+00:00 February 14th, 2018|Dinosaur Fans, Magazine Reviews, Main Page, Movie Reviews and Movie News, Photos, Prehistoric Times|0 Comments

“Prehistoric Times” First Edition

Two years ago, Everything Dinosaur was informed that Aardman Animations, the company behind such iconic characters as Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and films such as “Arthur Christmas”, had approached our chum Mike Fredericks, the editor of the quarterly magazine “Prehistoric Times” to request permission to utilise his magazine in a forthcoming movie. The film entitled “Early Man” was premiered in the UK last month and is due to be released in the United States later this week.

A Still from the Animated Film “Early Man” Showing the Prehistoric Times

An early subscriber to “Prehistoric Times”.

“Prehistoric Times”

Everything Dinosaur contacted Aardman Animations and they very kindly agreed to release a still from the movie, showing one of the lead characters, Lord Nooth, the greedy leader of the Bronze Age folk, voiced by British actor Tom Hiddleston, perusing an edition of “The Prehistoric Times”.

The modern version of “Prehistoric Times” (an unintended oxymoron), is a quarterly publication which has been in circulation for more than a decade, but clearly the magazine was popular much earlier. From this evidence, it seems that this magazine has been in vogue since the New Stone Age.

For further information about “Prehistoric Times” – the quarterly, not the scroll version: Prehistoric Times Magazine

You can even read it in the bath should you wish to do so, although the prehistoric Wild Boar is optional.

7 08, 2016

“Meg” The Megalodon Movie

By Mike| 2023-05-06T07:39:30+01:00 August 7th, 2016|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Movie Reviews and Movie News|0 Comments

Prehistoric Shark Thriller Movie to Feature Megalodon

It may be more than forty years since “Jaws” hit our cinemas screens, but sharks still fascinate and terrify, although statistically you are more likely to be killed by a cow than by a shark. Sharks may have a reputation for being cold-blooded, merciless killers but in reality, there are on average, about half a dozen or so reported fatalities each year from shark attacks.

Cows More Dangerous Than Sharks

Bovines (cows) tend to be more dangerous. Cows with young can be very protective and have been known to charge and trample unwary people who venture too close. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) some seventy-four people have been fatally attacked by cows in the UK since the year 2000.

Globally, cows present a much greater risk than any shark.

Within the shark group (Elasmobranchii), there are around 480 extant species, but only three of these, the Bull shark, Tiger and Great White, represent a significant threat to beach goers. However, expect a spike in the number of people claiming to have Selachophobia (a morbid fear of sharks), as filming of a new shark-inspired movie gets into full swing.

Megalodon to Feature in a New Horror Film

Based on the series of “Meg” novels by the talented American science-fiction writer Steve Alten, filming is getting underway on the Warner Bros production and a tentative release date of March 2nd 2018 has been proposed. This is a full three months before Universal Pictures intend to release their Jurassic World sequel, which currently has the working title “Jurassic World II – Ancient Futures”.

Jason Statham (Transporter, The Expendables, Snatch) has been confirmed as the lead actor, he has been joined on the cast list by Jessica McNamee. Statham plays formal U.S. Navy diver Jonas Taylor who is given the chance to redeem his reputation by leading a rescue mission to save a team of Chinese scientists who have encountered a Megalodon (giant prehistoric shark) in a deep ocean trench.

The Front Cover of the Book “Meg” by Steve Alten

Exciting and thrilling adventure story based on Megalodon.

Directed by Jon Turtletaub (National Treasure: Book of Secrets), the film is likely to be a watery gore-fest, although we at Everything Dinosaur doubt whether this feature will have quite the impact of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film about a killing spree from a Great White.

Megalodon Movie

Of course it’s all hokum, the likelihood of a giant, apex predator shark lurking in the deepest recesses of the ocean is extremely remote. There are undoubtedly a vast number of marine organisms new to science awaiting discovery. After all, we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the deep sea, but there is simply not enough food in the Hadalpelagic Zone (that part of the ocean that comprises the deepest trenches and underwater canyons), to sustain such a large fish, even a single sixty foot long specimen. Still when did science ever get in the way of a good movie script?

A Megalodon Fossil Tooth

A large fossil tooth from a Otodus megalodon. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Safari Ltd produced an excellent replica of the giant prehistoric shark C. megalodon: Wild Safari Prehistoric World Models and Figures.

The Wild Safari Dinos Megalodon Shark Model

The Wild Safari Dinosaurs Megalodon shark model.

Rows and rows of teeth inside the mouth.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

It looks like Megalodon (C. megalodon) is going to join that ever-growing list of prehistoric creatures that have featured in movies.

Please note, following a taxonomic revision the bionomial scientific name is Otodus megalodon.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

5 07, 2015

“Jurassic World” and the Velociraptor Called “Blue”

By Mike| 2023-04-01T11:36:10+01:00 July 5th, 2015|Movie Reviews and Movie News|3 Comments

Papo Velociraptor Model Turns “Blue”

With the release of “Jurassic World” last month, a whole new generation of young dinosaur fans were introduced to prehistoric beasties such as Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex and Apatosaurus. Whilst chatting with fans of the film over the last few weeks we have discovered that one of the favourite dinosaurs from the whole movie is the Velociraptor known as “Blue”. We don’t want to spoil the plot for those of you who have not seen it yet, but the pack of Velociraptors does play a pivotal role in the film and “Blue” the beta animal in the pack is a bit of a heroine (all the prehistoric animals in the film are female).

Papo Velociraptor Dinosaur Model

Now we know there has been a lot of discussion about how the “raptors” have been portrayed in the franchise. After all, they tend to be somewhat oversized (the Jurassic World website states that they are five metres long), they also lack feathers and most palaeontologists agree that the two species of Velociraptor so far described probably were covered in a coat of feathers. If we put these points aside for the moment, then one of the next questions Everything Dinosaur team members get asked is, “can you recommend a dinosaur model that looks like the Velociraptors from the movie?”

The Papo Velociraptor with its articulated jaw and scaly skin was nominated as a suitable model for anyone wishing to recreate their very own “raptor pack”.

The Papo Velociraptor Dinosaur Model Gets Our Vote

Papo Velociraptor dinosaur model.

A Blue Velociraptor

It seems that other discerning dinosaur model fans are in agreement with us. One of our Facebook chums Tong from Taiwan very kindly sent us a picture of a Papo Velociraptor that had received a customised paint job to make it look even more like “Blue” from the film.

Papo Velociraptor Dinosaur Model Turned into “Blue”

Customising a model dinosaur.

By Taiwan 小模王 “

Tong told us that he purchased this customised model and what a splendid job the artist has done. The Papo Velociraptor skin tone really lends itself to having a bespoke paint job. We have seen a number of re-painted Papo dinosaur models over the years and it is great to see one of the dinosaurs from “Jurassic World” created this way.

“Blue” Even Has an Articulated Lower Jaw

A “blue” dinosaur.

By Taiwan 小模王 “

Marvel at the Skills of Model Makers

We always marvel at the skill of the artists who dedicate their time to creating iconic dinosaur figures and models. The Velociraptors have appeared in all four of the “Jurassic Park” films and we suspect that they will also have a pivotal role to play in the sequel to “Jurassic World”. Our thanks to Tong from Taiwan for helping us with this article. The film “Jurassic World” has taken something like $1.3 billion USD in box office sales since its world-wide release on June 12th, it will very probably end up one of the top five highest grossing films of all time. It will certainly be vying with the new “Star Wars” film due out later on this year for the most successful film of 2015.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s collection of Papo prehistoric animal models: Papo Dinosaurs.

19 06, 2015

Papo Velociraptors Claim to Fame

By Mike| 2023-03-31T07:59:24+01:00 June 19th, 2015|Dinosaur Fans, Movie Reviews and Movie News, Photos of Everything Dinosaur Products, Press Releases|0 Comments

“Jurassic World Raptors” and the Papo Velociraptor Replica

Some of the most exciting scenes in the record breaking dinosaur movie “Jurassic World” involve the pack of “raptors” and the various chase scenes. Velociraptors, at least over-sized ones anyway, have been a mainstay of the “Jurassic Park” franchise, ever since the first film came out way back in 1993. Pack hunting and some form of social behaviour has been ascribed to these types of dinosaurs, which as members of the Dromaeosauridae (swift lizards) family, are closely related to modern birds.

Velociraptor

In reality, the two species of Velociraptor described to date were much smaller than their movie counterparts, but even so, they would very probably have been aggressive animals and formidable hunters, much feared by even the largest of the herbivores that shared their Asian habitat towards the end of the Cretaceous.

Which Dinosaur Model Most Closely Resembels the Movie Raptors?

This accolade, we think, goes to Papo for their Velociraptor replica. The theropod dinosaurs in “Jurassic World” have been criticised for not reflecting some of the latest thinking with regards to meat-eating dinosaurs. For example, there is an absence of feathers and many palaeontologists now think that the majority of the Theropoda were at least partially feathered. The Papo Velociraptor dinosaur model is also not feathered.

A Pair of Papo Velociraptors

Papo Velociraptor dinosaur model.

Papo Velociraptor

Papo, the French model and figure manufacturer, has built up a strong reputation for its excellent replicas. The company’s dinosaur model range was believed to have been inspired by the first film, “Jurassic Park” that was released in 1993. The current range consists of over thirty different prehistoric animal models.

To view the full Papo prehistoric animal model range: Papo Dinosaur Models.

In the film, animal trailer turned dinosaur behaviourist Owen Grady, played by Chris Pratt, leads a pack of Velociraptors, describing himself as the “alpha” member of the pack, Owen is able to exercise some degree of control over the actions of his dinosaurs. How much control..? Well, that would be giving away details of the plot and since not all our readers have seen the film yet, we shall say no more.

15 06, 2015

“Jurassic World” in Record Weekend

By Mike| 2023-03-30T22:01:08+01:00 June 15th, 2015|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Movie Reviews and Movie News, Press Releases|0 Comments

$511 Million USD in Cinema Ticket Sales in a Weekend for Jurassic World

“Jurassic World” directed by Colin Trevorrow and co-produced by Steven Spielberg has become the first film in history to take more than $500 million dollars (USD) at the box office on its opening weekend. The film, the fourth in the Jurassic Park franchise, had been scheduled for release in the summer of 2014, but script issues and filming delays put back the release of the movie.

All Doubts Removed

Any doubts the executives at Universal Studios had about “Jurassic World” were very quickly dispelled as advance ticket sales for the opening weekend had hinted that the lure of genetically engineered dinosaurs was going to result in huge financial rewards for the studio.

The film was the most popular screening in all sixty-six countries where it was released over the weekend. In the United States it took some $204 million dollars (USD), box office receipts in China are estimated to have exceeded $100 million (USD), whilst in the United Kingdom and Ireland ticket sales were around the $30 million (USD) mark.

According to media reports, the success of “Jurassic World” in America makes it the second highest grossing opening weekend for a film in the United States (the record is held by the 2012 release of Marvel’s “The Avengers” which took $207.4 million (USD) in its first weekend.

A Monster Hit in the Cinemas!

A model of a genetically designed dinosaur. Inspired by InGen? A film proves to be a “monster hit” on the opening weekend.

For models and replicas of prehistoric animals: Nanmu Studio Jurassic World Models.

Global box office ticket sales have been estimated at around the $511.8 million dollars mark (USD), that equates to approximately £325 million (GBP), even the giant Masrani conglomerate, the fictitious global concern that supposedly owns the theme park where the movie is set, would be impressed with sales figures such as these.

Possibly Universal Studio’s Highest Grossing Film Ever

The first “Jurassic Park” film was released in 1993. Everything Dinosaur team members think that this first movie (for the time being), remains Universal Studio’s highest grossing film ever, with over $921 million (USD) generated at the box office worldwide. This figure was further boosted by cinema receipts from the twentieth anniversary edition released in 2013.

To put these cinema sales into context, the top grossing film in the United States and Canada last year (box office receipts), was “Guardians of the Galaxy which took some $333.1 million (USD), “Jurassic World” achieved over sixty percent of this sales figure in just its opening weekend. “Guardians of the Galaxy” starred Chris Pratt, who plays Owen Grady, the Velociraptor behaviourist turned hero of “Jurassic World”.

People Just Love Dinosaurs – “Jurassic World”

What does all this mean? Put simply, people just love dinosaurs and the bigger and fiercer they are the better. Perhaps this film will inspire the next generation of scientists, a spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“Jurassic World, was always going to be a huge success in all likelihood. The film puts people and dinosaurs together and that is a winning combination that has been proved time and time again throughout cinema history.”

A Sequel?

The success of the film does not just mean a rekindling of our love affair with summer block-busters, it also virtually guarantees that the “Jurassic Park” franchise will continue. Everything Dinosaur team members predict that there will be a sequel, expect announcements soon and a cinema release of maybe late 2017.

Team members try to make annual predictions about dinosaur discoveries, fossil finds and likely events related to palaeontology at the beginning of each year. Our first prediction for 2015, was a real no-brainer, we confidently stated that “Jurassic World” was going to be a huge success!

To read Everything Dinosaur’s full list of palaeontology predictions for 2015: Everything Dinosaur’s Predictions 2015.

To visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

Load More Posts