Jurassic World 2 topples Incredibles 2 at the box office in battle of the sequels

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom roared into theaters this past weekend with a monstrous $150 million domestic opening, toppling last week’s winner Incredibles 2. Leading up to the weekend, Fallen Kingdom was expected to open with $140 million but handily exceeded expectations.

Fallen Kingdom arrives in theaters three years after its predecessor soared into box office history with a then record $208 million opening. The latest chapter didn’t quite match those numbers, but surpassing its predecessor was always an uphill battle.

Not only did the first Jurassic World come equipped with a 14-year gap of demand for the franchise, it also arrived at an opportune time where competition was limited. Fallen Kingdom opened one week after Incredibles 2 blasted into the box office with $180 million and continued the pace with $81 million in its second weekend. A big chunk of that family audience could have gone to Fallen Kingdom had it opened on a different date.

Coincidentally, this is only the second time in history that two movies opened with back to back $100-plus million openings. The only other time that happened was 11 years ago when Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End eclipsed the mark on consecutive weeks.

Overall, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is absolutely killing it at the box office. Aside from its domestic dominance, it has accumulated $567 million at the international box office, bringing its total to $717 million. It’s a forgone conclusion it will reach the billion dollar mark, and a better question is if it’ll get close to the $1.6 billion mark its predecessor earned in 2015.