“Jurassic World”‘s colossal $208 million opening weekend is already the fourth major triumph of 2015 for Universal Pictures. Not only has Universal never experienced a year like this at any time in its long and illustrious history, but it has the chance to smash the all-time, single year box office record for any motion picture studio.
“Fifty Shades of Grey” dominated Valentine’s Day weekend and grossed nearly $170 million. “Furious 7” opened to $147 million back in April and has now totaled $350M. “Pitch Perfect 2” surpassed the 2012 original’s take in its opening weekend and is up to $170 million. And now, thanks to complete Dino Domination, “Jurassic World” is on track to take-in between $400 and $450 million by the end of the summer.
And that’s just the beginning. “Ted 2” opens in less than two weeks. The 2012 original was Universal’s biggest moneymaker that year with close to $220 million. You’ve got to believe the Mark Wahlberg/Seth MacFarlane sequel will surpass that figure and could approach $300 million.
And then there’s “Minions”. Supervillain turned superdad Gru’s little yellow assistants from the “Despicable Me” movies take center-stage in their own film on July 10. “DM2” made $370 million in 2013. $400 million for “Minions” is certainly not out of the question.
When you add-up these six movies (five of them being franchise sequels), you’re looking at over $1.8 billion (with a “B”) in the US alone. That’s a mind-blowing and potentially record-setting total. Currently, Disney in 2013 (with “Iron Man 3” and “Frozen” leading the pack) and 20th Century FOX in 2009 (when “Avatar” made box office history, raking-in $750M alone) boast the biggest single year studio totals for its top 5 releases.
Universal’s offerings following “Minions” don’t pack nearly the same punch, but do include Awards contenders “Steve Jobs” and “By the Sea”, as well as comedies “Trainwreck” and “Sisters. So the possibility of the studio having a $2.5 billion 2015 is very real.
And what a difference a year makes: Universal’s top-grossing film of 2014 was the
Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy “Neighbors”, which made $150 million. Indominus Rex’s weekend food bill is larger than that.