What makes Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom different from the rest of the Jurassic Park movies? That’s the question that Universal/Comcast Corp. will have to answer in the next two months. Yes, Jurassic World earned a record-breaking $208 million Fri-Sun weekend and ended up with $652m domestic and $1.671 billion worldwide, but that was the first Jurassic Park movie in 14 years. Moreover, the film had a killer hook (“The park is open”) and Chris Pratt fresh off The LEGO Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy leading the way. And, warts and all, Colin Trevorrow delivered a big, colorful, quirky piece of IMAX-friendly popcorn entertainment that offered just enough self-commentary to justify itself beyond IP exploitation.


But Fallen Kingdom is just another Jurassic Park movie. The premise, from what we’ve seen so far, is relatively straightforward, with Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt returning to the deserted island to rescue the dinosaurs before its volcanos explode. It’s a “save the animals” plot akin to The Lost World. But, as seen in this trailer, with its shots of close-quarters attacks and dinos menacing kids in their beds (that’s a primal as all hell piece of imagery), Universal is selling the idea that J.A. Bayona’s installment will be less swashbuckling adventure and more horror. Or, maybe a little of both, as what starts as Jurassic Park eventually turns into Carnosaur.





If it’s more “Egad, the horror!” than “Woohoo, the fun!” than that’s another reason it might not play as big or as leggy as Jurassic World. And, of course, the darker, grimmer and more graphically violent The Lost World took some slight knocks for its double-digit body count and periodic gruesome violence, as well as for being a less than “Oooh… ah!” experience. Like Batman Returns and The Last Jedi, The Lost World still made gonzo bucks ($228m domestic and $619m worldwide) but earned around 35% less than Jurassic Park worldwide. A similar scenario still gives Fallen Kingdom $416m domestic and around $1.1 billion worldwide, which would still be a boatload of cash for the over/under $180m sequel.



It will be very interesting to see how this one plays out. It’s entirely possible that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will both be a better movie than Jurassic World and different enough from the rest of the franchise to justify itself while still not becoming anywhere near of a pop culture event. It opens a week after The Incredibles 2 and just two weeks before Ant-Man and the Wasp so the competition will be heavier. But don’t be shocked if Avengers: Infinity War crushes it in North America while Fallen Kingdom still squeaks out an overseas victory, as Fate of the Furious barely cracked $225m domestic but earned over $1 billion worldwide last year.


Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, BD Wong, Ted Levine, James Cromwell and Jeff Goldblum, opens June 6 overseas and June 22 in North America.

Nice steal.

Warning: THERE ARE SPOILERS