'Jurassic World Dominion' becomes third pandemic-era film to stomp over $1 billion worldwide

After three months of playing in theaters, Jurassic World Dominion has finally joined its two predecessor in the billion-dollar club at the global box office, Variety confirmed today. The third and final chapter in Colin Trevorrow's dino-saga is only the third movie of the COVID-19 era to achieve such a financial feat after Sony's Spider-Man: No Way Home and Paramount's Top Gun: Maverick. To date, Dominion has raked up $376 million domestically and $624 million internationally ($158 million of that number comes from China).

"As Top Gun Maverick soared to amazing box office heights and became the focus of the summer season box office derby, the mighty dinosaurs of Jurassic World Dominion methodically and quietly stomped their way into the $1 billion club and in the process, showed the power of a beloved brand to draw audiences around the world to the multiplex," Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst at Comscore, tells SYFY WIRE. "Jurassic World Dominion benefited — first and foremost — from being a part of one of the biggest movie brands in history. It also enjoyed a solidly-executed marketing campaign and a great release date that allowed it to take advantage of the incredible success of Top Gun, which opened just two weeks prior and effectively put audiences in the mood for more retro-brand-style cinematic fun."

"It took a minute to get there, but Dominion's ability to reach $1-billion, despite mixed audience reception, highlights the enduring popularity of the franchise as well as audience eagerness for a return to big screen action," adds Shawn Robbins, Chief Analyst at Boxoffice Pro. "It will now hand the baton over to the next wave of global blockbusters set to hit theaters later this year and throughout 2023."

Set four years after the events of 2018's Fallen Kingdom, the globe-trotting trilogy capper picks up in a world completely overrun by dinosaurs. As you might expect, humans aren't exactly thrilled about having to defend their spot at the top of the food chain. 

When Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) and Blue's daughter, Beta, are snatched up by black market poachers, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) spring into action to save their adopted daughter. Meanwhile, the OG Jurassic Park heroes — Doctors Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) — investigate shady dealings at Biosyn, the company that sabotaged John Hammond's ambitious venture three decades before.

"[Co-screenwriter] Emily Carmichael and I, over a good amount of time, really were able to very carefully construct those two narrative stories that collide into one," Trevorrow explained to us ahead of the movie's release in June. "But in order to do it, we really had to create a scenario where there was a genuine threat to planet Earth, and something that was based in reality; a scientific, ecological reality that we all know. For all of those things to happen, it took some time and a lot of speaking to scientists and geneticists."

Other returning faces include Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong), Franklin Webb (Justice Smith), Dr. Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), and Barry Sembene (Omar Sy). Franchise newcomers are DeWanda Wise (Kayla Watts), Mamoudou Athie (Ramsay Cole), Campbell Scott (Lewis Dodgson), and Dichen Lachman (Soyona Santos).

In addition to directing and co-writing, Trevorrow also served as an executive producer with Alexandra Derbyshire and Jurassic godfather, Steven Spielberg. Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley were producers, while Michael Giacchino returned as composer.

Jurassic World Dominion is now available on Peacock, Digital, VOD, Blu-Ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD.