The dinos are back.
Universal and Amblin's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom stomped into 4,475 theaters on Friday, grossing $58.7 million for the day, including $15.3 million in Thursday previews. The summer tentpole is now headed for a $144 million-plus domestic bow, ahead of projections and more than enough to wrest the crown from holdover Incredibles 2.
The sequel nabbed an A- CinemaScore, versus a meh 50 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
As expected, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is pacing notably behind Jurassic World, which opened to a then-record $208.8 million. Jurassic World — benefiting from pent-up demand for a franchise that had long been absent from the big screen — scored the biggest domestic debut of all time when it was released in June 2015, a record it held until Star Wars: Force Awakens launched to $248 million six months later.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, costing roughly $170 million to produce before marketing, has already earned more than $466 million overseas, where it began rolling out two weeks ago. That includes $170 million from China alone. And in North America, it is headed for the fourth-best debut of the year so far behind a trio of blockbusters from the Disney empire; Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther and Incredibles 2.
This time out, directing duties belonged to Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona (The Impossible). Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard once again lead the cast, while Daniella Pineda, Rafe Spall, Isabella Sermon, James Cromwell and Geraldine Chaplin are among the actors joining the franchise for the first time.
The story follows Pratt and Howard's characters as they rush to help rescue the dinosaurs on the abandoned island of Isla Nublar after a volcano erupts. They uncover a menacing conspiracy, however, when the evacuation leads to a secret dino-encampment on the mainland of America.
Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley produced Fallen Kingdom, with Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow (who helmed Jurassic World) executive producing.
Incredibles 2 is poised to do formidable business in its sophomore outing with a projected $79 million-plus from 4,410 theaters, the biggest second weekends of all time for an animated film, as well as one of the biggest for any film. By the end of Sunday, the Pixar and Disney film will boast a 10-day domestic total of $348 million or more.
The Disney and Pixar film could dip as much as 57 percent, one of the bigger declines for a Pixar title. At the same time, the movie opened to a record $182 million, meaning a bigger fall was almost guaranteed.
Warner Bros.' Ocean's 8, which is about to cross $100 million domestically, is tipped to follow at No. 3 with an estimated $11 million from 3,856 theaters in its third weekend from 3,856 theaters.
Fellow Warner Bros. release Tag, continuing the R-rated comedy slump, looks to fall nearly 50 percent in its second weekend to a projected $7.6 million from 3,382 cinemas for a 10-day domestic cume of $30 million.
Fox and Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool 2 will jump the $300 million mark this weekend in North America, and $700 million globally. The superhero sequel, rounding out the top five, is on course to gross $5 million domestically from 2,240 theaters in its sixth outing.
Among other high-profile holdovers, John Travolta's mob biopic Gotti is sinking fast in its second weekend. The indie mob biopic looks to fall 59 percent to a projected 700,000 from 466 theaters for a 10-day total cume of $3.1 million.
Like Gotti, Sony Pictures Classics' Boundaries, a feel-good dramedy starring Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer, also sparked headlines this week after Peter Fonda, who plays a supporting role in the specialty film, made a disparaging tweet about Barron Trump, son of President Donald Trump. Fonda later deleted the tweet and apologized, but that didn't stop First Lady Melania Trump's office from notifying the Secret Service, while Donald Trump Jr. questioned why Sony wasn't taking action.
Sony Classics followed up with a statement saying Fonda's tweet was "abhorent and reckless," but that it wouldn't alter the film, or pull its release, since that would penalize the rest of the crew and cast.
Boundaries is projected to gross roughly $25,000 from five theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a lackluster screen average of $5,000.
Other new offerings at the specialty box office include Magnolia's Damsel, an indie Western starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska. Damsel, debuting in three theaters, is likewise looking at a lackluster per screen average, or $6,600.
June 22, 12:50 p.m. Updated with revised weekend estimates.
June 23, 7:30 a.m. Updated with Friday grosses and revised weekend estimates.