I keep reading these Jurassic World box office numbers thinking there’s been a misprint. Three weeks old, it still beat debuting Ted 2 by $20 million this weekend, $54.2 million to $32.9 million (domestic numbers, based on early estimates). J-World has earned $500 million domestic in 17 days, beating Avengers‘ record by six days. Analysts expect it to become the third highest domestic grossing movie of all time, behind Avatar and Titanic. Consider that those were both James Cameron movies, and this was directed by Colin Trevorrow, a second-time director whose first movie earned less than Avatar‘s spandex budget. As my grandpap liked to say, dat sh*t cray.
Meanwhile, Ted 2 was the biggest new movie opening this weekend, opening to a $32.9 million domestic gross. That was disappointing compared to expectations (analysts expected “about $45 to $50 million“), and down 39% from the original, but fine for a movie that cost $68 million to make. Ted 1 opened with $54.4 million, but that was a break out hit, the second-biggest opening for an R-rated comedy of all time (on the way to $549 million worldwide, the fifth biggest R-rated movie of any genre). Ted 2 is still pretty big for an R-rated comedy, just nowhere near the original. As one analyst put it, Ted 2 is “playing basically how we all thought Ted would play three years ago.”
Shockingly, people liked Ted 2 less than the first (B+ cinemascore compared to A-; 47 to 67% on RottenTomatoes), meaning it will likely peter out faster. I’m just happy I don’t have to see that commercial where the black judge high fives Ted for his soulful singing anymore. Which, when you think about it, since Seth MacFarlane directed the movie, is basically Seth MacFarlane high fiving Seth MacFarlane for his beautiful singing voice, only one of the Seth MacFarlanes in blackface.
Elsewhere, Inside Out finished a close second, earning $52.2 million for the weekend in its second weekend in release. Pretty good. The other, smaller new release of the weekend was Max, about a dog struggling with PTSD, which earned $12.2 million. I assume it didn’t cost much to make. It also received an A Cinemascore, which I would expect for a movie with a poster as awesome as this:
It bugs me that he doesn’t have a gun strapped to his hip.
This week brings us Magic Mike XXL and Terminator: Genisys. I think you all know which direction my hips are thrusting for that one.