The highly anticipated sequel, "Jurassic World Rebirth," roared into cinemas this past weekend, dominating the global box office and shattering expectations. The film secured a staggering $91.5 million in its three-day domestic opening, pushing its five-day North American total to an impressive $147.3 million after a strong Wednesday head start. Globally, "Rebirth" amassed $318.3 million, swiftly recouping its estimated $180 million budget within just three days. This monumental debut marks it as the second-biggest premiere in the storied "Jurassic Park" franchise, trailing only 2020's "Jurassic World," and stands as Universal's most successful opening of the year. Furthermore, "Jurassic World Rebirth" has claimed the title of the biggest 4th of July opener of all time at the domestic box office, surpassing "Minions: The Rise of Gru"'s previous record. Its rapid success has solidified its position as the 8th highest-grossing film of 2025 domestically and the 9th to cross the $100 million milestone this year, effectively putting to rest earlier laments about the box office's sluggish pace.

In a competitive weekend, "Jurassic World Rebirth" faced off against a diverse slate of films. Brad Pitt and Joseph Kosinski's "F1: The Movie" took second place, grossing $26 million in its second week for a total of $109.52 million domestically, though it saw a significant drop from its opening. Dreamworks' "How to Train Your Dragon" continued its strong run, securing third place with $11 million in its fourth week, bringing its domestic total to $224 million and global gross to $516.9 million. Conversely, Pixar's "Elio" struggled, taking in only $5.7 million in its third week for a disappointing domestic total of $55 million, with its global gross reaching $96.7 million. Other notable performers included Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's "28 Years Later," which earned $4.6 million in its third week ($60.23 million domestic total), and the live-action remake of "Lilo & Stitch," which tied with Blumhouse's "M3GAN 2.0" at $3.8 million. "M3GAN 2.0" notably underperformed compared to its predecessor, reaching only $18.55 million domestically in its second week. Independent romantic dramedy "Materialists," starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal, continued its impressive hold, adding $1.3 million in its fourth week for a $33.52 million domestic total against a modest $20 million budget, showcasing its resilience in a challenging market for the genre. Overall, the domestic box office for 2025 has reached $4.3 billion by its mid-point, suggesting it is well on track to meet or exceed 2024's year-end gross of $8.5 billion.

Beyond its financial success, "Jurassic World Rebirth" dives deep into the franchise's core theme of "survival of the fittest." The film introduces paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), a former postdoc of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), who is now advising Parker-Genix, a pharmaceutical engineering company. Under the supervision of Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), Parker-Genix is developing "Paleo-Dioxin," a revolutionary drug aimed at eradicating coronary disease, which necessitates extracting DNA samples from living dinosaurs. This leads mercenary Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead a covert operation to Ile Saint-Hubert, an isolated island where two dozen dinosaur species have thrived for nearly two decades since the events of "Jurassic World Dominion." The mission quickly transforms into a desperate search and rescue when Bennett's team intercepts a distress signal from the shipwrecked Delgado family – Ruben, Teresa, Xavier, and Isabella – capsized by a Mosasaur in the island's perilous, Spinosaurus-infested waters. The family's subsequent perilous trek through a jungle teeming with both natural and genetically-altered mutant dinosaurs forms a thrilling survival narrative.

The film's narrative choice, featuring a stranded survival scenario, echoes an unused script concept from the development of 2001's "Jurassic Park III." Original "Jurassic Park" screenwriter David Koepp, who returned for "Rebirth," had initially proposed a rescue mission centered around a stranded survivor for "Jurassic Park III," an idea that evolved significantly but whose core concept was resurrected for this new installment. This decision, along with aiming for a more "Spielbergian" tone, allowed "Rebirth" to achieve its goals with a more contained budget compared to its predecessor, "Jurassic World Dominion." While critics' reception was mixed, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 51%, the film's financial performance demonstrates its strong appeal to audiences.

A significant highlight of "Jurassic World Rebirth" is Scarlett Johansson's starring role as Zora Bennett. Her powerful presence and central involvement in the film's action have made "Rebirth" her biggest non-MCU opener to date, and her first non-MCU film to cross the $100 million domestic box office mark. This success further solidifies her standing as a global box office draw. With its robust opening and continued international appeal, "Jurassic World Rebirth" is expected to eye a final global gross approaching $700 million, making a sequel seem almost inevitable despite upcoming summer competition from major releases like James Gunn's "Superman."