Jurassic World is a 2015 American science fiction adventure film, the first film in the sequel trilogy and the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park series. The film was directed and co-written by Colin Trevorrow, produced by Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, and stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. The production companies were Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, also responsible for the rest of the Jurassic Park franchise, and Thomas Tull's Legendary Pictures. Set 22 years after the events of Jurassic Park, Jurassic World takes place on the same fictional Central American island of Isla Nublar, off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, where a theme park populated with cloned dinosaurs has operated for ten years. The park plunges into chaos when a genetically created dinosaur breaks loose and goes on a rampage across the island.
Universal Pictures intended to begin production on a fourth Jurassic Park film in 2004 for a summer 2005 release, but the film entered over a decade of development hell while the script went through revisions. Following a suggestion from Spielberg, writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver explored the idea of a functional dinosaur park. Once Trevorrow was hired as director in 2013, he followed the same idea while developing a whole new script with Derek Connolly. Principal photography rolled from April to August 2014, primarily in Louisiana while also using the original Jurassic Park filming locations in Hawaii. Again the dinosaurs were created through computer-generated imagery by Industrial Light & Magic and life-sized animatronics by Legacy Effects, a company created by the alumni of Jurassic Park veteran Stan Winston.
Jurassic World was completed on May 10, 2015, and was released in over 60 countries beginning on June 10, 2015. After a record-breaking opening weekend of which it became the first film that grossed over $500 million worldwide, Jurassic World generated a total of $1.6 billion in box office revenue, standing as the fourth highest-grossing film of all time without inflation adjustment, as well as the second highest-grossing film of 2015 and the highest-grossing film in the franchise. It also displaced Illumination Entertainment's Despicable Me 2 (2013) as the highest-grossing film released by Universal Pictures (based on original domestic release). A sequel, titled Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, is scheduled to be released on June 7, 2018, in the United Kingdom, and on June 22, 2018, in the United States.
Video Jurassic World
Plot
Brothers Zach and Gray Mitchell visit Isla Nublar, the site of the original Jurassic Park, where a new theme park named Jurassic World has operated for years. Simon Masrani, the park's owner, has encouraged geneticist Dr. Henry Wu to create a hybrid dinosaur to attract visitors. The two boys meet their aunt, Claire Dearing, the park's operations manager. Claire assigns her assistant Zara to be their guide, but the boys evade her and explore the resort on their own.
Owen Grady, a Navy veteran, has been researching the intelligence of the park's four Velociraptors. InGen Security chief Vic Hoskins believes the raptors should be trained for military use despite Owen's objections. Masrani has Owen evaluate the enclosure of the park's new hybrid dinosaur, the Indominus rex, before the attraction opens. Owen warns Claire about the danger of raising Indominus in isolation, pointing out its lack of socialization with other animals. When they discover that the Indominus seems to have escaped, Owen and two others enter the enclosure. Able to camouflage itself and mask its heat signature, the Indominus suddenly appears and devours Owen's companions before escaping into the island's interior. Owen suggests that the Indominus must be killed, but Masrani instead sends a specialized unit to capture it. After most of the unit is killed, Claire orders the evacuation of the island's northern sector.
While exploring the park in a gyrosphere ride, Zach and Gray enter a restricted area. The Indominus arrives and destroys their sphere, but the boys manage to evade it and find the ruins of the original Jurassic Park visitor center. They repair an old 1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara and drive back to the park resort. Claire and Owen search for the boys, but encounter the Indominus and barely escape. Masrani and two troopers hunt the Indominus by helicopter, but when the Indominus breaks into the park's aviary to escape the gunfire, it releases a flock of the pterosaurs Pteranodon and Dimorphodon that collide with the helicopter, causing it to crash, killing Masrani and his troops. The pterosaurs then attack the resort itself; in the chaos, Zara is carried off by pterosaurs before falling into the park's lagoon and being devoured by the park's Mosasaurus. Gray and Zach eventually find Owen and Claire at the resort as armed personnel subdue the pterosaurs with tranquilizers.
Assuming command, Hoskins orders that the raptors should be used to track the Indominus; Owen is forced to accept Hoskins' plan and lead the raptors. Upon reaching the Indominus, the dinosaurs begin communicating with one another. Owen realizes that the Indominus includes raptor DNA, and it becomes the raptor pack's new alpha, taking command away from Owen. Hoskins arranges for Dr. Henry Wu to leave the island by helicopter with the dinosaur embryos, in order to protect his research. Owen, Claire and the boys find Hoskins at the lab, with more staff packing up the remaining embryos. Hoskins reveals his plan to create other hybrid dinosaurs like Indominus for use as superweapons, but a raptor breaks in and mauls him to death.
Owen re-establishes his bond with the raptors before the Indominus reappears. The raptors attack the Indominus, but are killed. Claire lures the park's Tyrannosaurus rex into a battle with the Indominus. The two dinosaurs fight, with the Indominus gaining the upper hand until Blue, the lone surviving raptor joins the battle. Overwhelmed, the Indominus is backed up to the lagoon, where the Mosasaurus leaps out and drags it underwater. The T. rex retreats, followed by Blue, who turns to acknowledge Owen before leaving. Isla Nublar is once again abandoned, and the survivors are successfully evacuated to the mainland. Zach and Gray are reunited with their parents, while the T. rex roams freely on Isla Nublar.
Maps Jurassic World
Cast
- Chris Pratt as Owen Grady, a Navy veteran, and a raptor expert and trainer at Jurassic World.
- Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing, the Jurassic World operations manager. Aunt to Zach and Gray Mitchell.
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Vic Hoskins, head of InGen's security operations, who wants to use the raptors and the Indominus rex as military weapons.
- Ty Simpkins as Gray Mitchell, one of Claire's nephews and the younger brother of Zach.
- Nick Robinson as Zach Mitchell, one of Claire's nephews and the older brother of Gray.
- Omar Sy as Barry, Owen's assistant who helps care for the raptors.
- B. D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu, a geneticist who heads the team that created the dinosaurs for Jurassic World. He is revealed to have an alliance with Hoskins. Wong is the only actor in the film to reprise his role from any of the previous movies.
- Irrfan Khan as Simon Masrani, CEO of the Masrani Corporation and the owner of Jurassic World.
- Jake Johnson as Lowery Cruthers, an employee in the park's control room.
- Lauren Lapkus as Vivian, an employee in the park's control room.
- Brian Tee as Hamada, the leader of the ACU (Asset Containment Unit), a group of security guards installed on Isla Nublar.
- Katie McGrath as Zara, Claire's personal assistant.
- Judy Greer as Karen Mitchell, Claire's sister and mother of Zach and Gray.
- Andy Buckley as Scott Mitchell, Karen's husband and father of Zach and Gray.
- Eric Edelstein as the supervisor of the Indominus rex control room.
- Jimmy Fallon as himself, portrayed as the safety instructor of the gyrosphere attraction.
- Jimmy Buffett as himself, portrayed as an escaping tourist during the pterosaur attack.
- Patrick Crowley, the film's producer, has a minor role as Masrani's flight instructor.
- Colin Trevorrow as the voice of Mr. DNA, an animated DNA helix who explains the park's technology to visitors. The character was previously voiced by Greg Burson in Jurassic Park.
- Brad Bird makes a cameo appearance as the voice of the park's monorail announcer.
- Jack Horner, the film's technical advisor, has a cameo in the film.
Themes and analysis
Director Colin Trevorrow stated that the Indominus rex, the synthetic hybrid dinosaur at the center of the film's story, is symbolic of consumer and corporate excess. The dinosaur was "meant to embody [humanity's] worst tendencies. We're surrounded by wonder and yet we want more, and we want it bigger, faster, louder, better. And in the world of the movie, the animal is designed based on a series of corporate focus groups." He also stated, "There's something in the film about our greed and our desire for profit. The Indominus rex, to me, is very much that desire, that need to be satisfied." Film journalists have noted the parallels between the workings of the park in Jurassic World and the film and entertainment industry. Actor James DuMont stated that "the person [and] the environment are one" is one of the obvious themes. Another theme is that "those who do not stop evil are supporting and encouraging it".
The film also explores the concept of raising an animal in a particular way. The Indominus rex was said to have been raised in captivity without the presence of any siblings, thus making the creature somewhat "not fully functional".
Production
Development
In March 2001, Jurassic Park III director Joe Johnston said that he and executive producer Steven Spielberg had discussed a story idea for a fourth Jurassic Park film, which Johnston was not interested in directing. In May 2001, Spielberg had Amblin Entertainment commence development of ideas for Jurassic Park IV, which he planned to produce. Late into Jurassic Park III's production, Spielberg devised a story idea which he believed should have been used for the third film instead. In June 2001, Johnston announced he would not direct the film, and that Spielberg had a story idea that would take the series' mythology to a new level. Johnston later said the film would feel like a departure from the previous films, implying it would not be set on an island.
In July 2001, actor Sam Neill, who portrayed Dr. Alan Grant in previous films, said he could not imagine a way for his character to be involved in another film. Neill was contracted for a total of three films. Other actors from Jurassic Park III were also signed on for a potential fourth film. That same month, Johnston denied, then later hinted, that the film would involve the Pteranodons from the ending of Jurassic Park III.
In April 2002, it was reported that the fourth Jurassic Park would be the last one in the series, and would ignore its predecessor's events. In a June 2002 interview with Starlog magazine, Spielberg officially confirmed the fourth film, which he hoped to have Johnston direct. Spielberg confirmed there was also a story, which he considered to be the best one since the first film. On November 4, 2002, Neill said there was a chance he would be in the film. On November 7, 2002, William Monahan was announced as the screenwriter, with Spielberg serving as executive producer and Kathleen Kennedy as producer. A month later, the film was announced for a summer 2005 release.
In January 2003, Jeff Goldblum said he had been asked to stay available for a possible return of his character Ian Malcolm. On January 30, 2003, it was reported that the story would involve dinosaurs migrating to the Costa Rican mainland. A team of experts, including Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm, chart an expedition to one of InGen's offshore islands and discover the dinosaurs breeding uncontrollably. The plot would involve the characters devising a solution to restrict the spread of the dinosaurs and prevent an ecological disaster. It was also reported that the plot contained a "top-secret aspect". Early concept art depicted genetically engineered human-dinosaur mercenaries. In April 2003, Stan Winston confirmed his special effects studio was in the design phase for the film. Winston also said that Spielberg wanted to adapt several previously unfilmed scenes from Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park novel and its sequel, The Lost World. In July 2003, Keira Knightley said she was in consideration for two separate roles, including a small role as a granddaughter. Monahan's first draft of the script was finished later that month, with a story no longer set in the jungle as in the previous films. A director had yet to be discussed at that time. Neill confirmed he would reprise his character, with filming set to begin in 2004 in California and Hawaii.
In September 2003, Richard Attenborough said he would reprise his role as John Hammond. In October 2003, paleontologist Jack Horner said he would return as technical adviser for the fourth film as he had done for previous Jurassic Park films. Horner hinted that Velociraptor would be an integral part of the film. Later that month, Horner was asked about a hypothetical idea of humans evolving from dinosaurs rather than mammals. Horner responded, "Keep thinking about that, and in a couple of years go see Jurassic Park 4." Keira Knightley's character was written out in late 2003. In March 2004, Johnston said he had not been asked to direct the film, and hoped that Spielberg would direct it. Johnston said a story was being written that would take the series in a completely different direction "away from the island and away from the T. rex and all this." In April 2004, script doctors were being sought to work on the film's story, which involved dinosaurs being trained by the government to carry and use weapons in battles. In May 2004, it was reported that screenwriter John Sayles was writing the script. Sayles was hired to finish earlier work done by Monahan, who had left the project to work on Kingdom of Heaven.
Sayles ultimately wrote two drafts for the film. In Sayles' first draft, Isla Nublar and InGen have been taken over by Grendel Corporation, a Swiss holdings company, while creatures from the island have begun attacking people on the mainland of Central and North America. The script featured a brief return to Isla Nublar, and would focus on a mercenary named Nick Harris, a new character who is sent by John Hammond to the island to retrieve a canister of dinosaur DNA that was lost during the events of the first film. With the DNA, Hammond intends to have his scientists create a new group of infertile dinosaurs that can kill the current infestation of creatures. After Harris retrieves the canister, he is kidnapped by Grendel and taken to their medieval castle headquarters in the Swiss Alps, where he is persuaded into helping the company train a team of five Deinonychus - modified with human DNA for problem-solving skills and dog DNA for obedience - and two Dilophosaurus for use on rescue missions and to fight against drug dealers. The dinosaurs would be equipped with body armor, and would use their teeth and claws as weapons. The script focused primarily on the efforts of Harris and a team of experts as they train the dinosaurs, who would also have hormone-emitting devices attached to their heads to help control their moods and behavior. Hammond would be the only returning character in this draft. The concept of a human who trains raptors was an idea that came from Spielberg.
By June 2004, Frank Marshall had joined the project as a producer. That month, it was reported that Alex Proyas was in discussions to direct, with filming expected to begin in March 2005 for a rescheduled winter 2005 release. Filming would have started at Pinewood Studios, where a massive tank was to be constructed for scenes involving marine reptiles. In July 2004, the script was being rewritten, with Jeremy Piven and Emmy Rossum being considered for two of the lead roles and Richard Attenborough reprising his character. Later that month, Proyas said he was not interested in directing the film.
In August 2004, Drew McWeeny of Ain't It Cool News published a review of Sayles' initial draft, writing "I think it's well-written and certainly inventive, but I also think it just might be the single most bugfuck crazy franchise sequel I've ever read". In 2005, Sayles confirmed this to be an early draft of the script, intercepted through Spielberg's email by a hacker. In late August 2004, David Boreanaz was rumored and later reported to have the lead role. Boreanaz was actually in consideration for Fantastic Four. Sayles was still rewriting the script in September 2004, with the film on track for a winter 2005 release.
In April 2005, Winston confirmed the film was on hold because of repeated revisions of the film's script, none of which satisfied Spielberg. According to Winston, "He felt neither of [the drafts] balanced the science and adventure elements effectively. It's a tough compromise to reach, as too much science will make the movie too talky, but too much adventure will make it seem hollow." In November 2005, Spielberg said he planned to include a scene in the film, taken from Crichton's The Lost World novel, that would involve characters on a motorcycle as they flee from raptors.
In January 2006, Johnston and Horner were working on a new screenplay, and more work on it was expected to begin immediately after the 2008 release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In February 2006, Marshall said the film now had a good script, with filming expected to begin in 2007 for a 2008 release. In March 2006, Marshall said the film had a script and was getting a director, with Johnston as a possible candidate. In April 2006, Marshall said there was an idea for the film, but not a script. Marshall went on to deny that Crichton would write the script, or that Spielberg would direct it. The script was still being worked on in June 2006.
In July 2006, Spielberg denied an Internet rumor that Breck Eisner would direct, saying Johnston was standing by for the job. In December 2006, Laura Dern said she was open to the possibility of reprising her role as Ellie Sattler, but had not been contacted about appearing in the film. In March 2007, Neill said he knew nothing about the project.
In April 2007, Dern said she had been contacted about appearing in the film, with filming expected to begin within the year for release in 2008. It was also reported that Johnston would not be directing the film. In December 2007, Marshall said further work on the script would not commence until the end of the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike, with filming potentially starting in 2008 for a release in the summer of 2009. Horner's 2009 book, How to Build a Dinosaur, was originally meant to come out at the same time as the film as a scientific companion volume.
Before his death, Attenborough was contacted about reprising the role of John Hammond. Goldblum had expressed some interest in reprising his role of Ian Malcolm for the fourth film.
In December 2008, Marshall and Kennedy were asked if there was any development on the sequel. Kennedy responded, "No... I don't know. You know, when Michael Crichton passed away, I sorta felt maybe that's it. Maybe that's a sign that we don't mess with it." While Marshall and Kennedy were no longer signed with Universal Pictures in a production capacity, it was said that the two would remain involved with the studio and its plans for Jurassic Park 4. In June 2009, Marshall said the film did not have a story. In November 2009, Johnston discussed the possibility of Jurassic Park 4, stating that the story for the film is completely different from that of its predecessors and would take the franchise into a whole other trilogy. In a January 2010 interview, Johnston reiterated that Jurassic Park 4 was set to be the beginning of a second Jurassic Park trilogy.
On June 15, 2011, it was reported that Spielberg had met twice with writer Mark Protosevich to work on a story for a potential fourth Jurassic Park film. In July 2011, Johnston said he was in discussions regarding the fourth film, which was still planned as the start of a new trilogy. Later that month, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, Spielberg said a writer was working on a treatment for the film, which he said would be possibly released "within the next two or three years." A representative from Universal said 2013 would be the preferred deadline for completion. Over the next three months, Mark Protosevich wrote two story treatments for the film. Spielberg had hoped to have a writer working on a full screenplay for Jurassic Park IV by the time he started filming his other project, Lincoln, in October 2011, with the hope that the script would be finished by the time Lincoln was finished. However, he and Kennedy felt that neither of Protosevich's treatments consisted of the right story for a fourth film.
Despite this, Spielberg said in October 2011 that the script was being written by Protosevich, and that he felt the story they were working on was stronger than that of Jurassic Park III. In December 2011, Kennedy said a script had not been written yet, as story ideas were still being discussed. In January 2012, Kennedy said a story had been chosen and that work on the script would begin. That month, Spielberg said he would not direct the film, opting instead to be a producer. On June 21, it was confirmed that Rise of the Planet of the Apes writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would be scripting Jurassic Park 4.
Pre-production
On January 11, 2013, Universal said the film would be shot in 3D and released on June 13, 2014. In February, it was reported that Kathleen Kennedy would not be producing the film in favor of focusing on Star Wars: The Force Awakens for 2015. Her husband and production partner Frank Marshall took over as the primary producer. Shortly thereafter, the director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, confirmed that Universal Pictures had reserved space there from April to November 2013, without specifying the project for which it was reserved.
As Kennedy prepared Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Brad Bird -- who wanted to work on the film but was too busy with Tomorrowland -- suggested to her that she employ director Colin Trevorrow to work as a stand-in during the pre-production of Star Wars. This instigated Kennedy and Marshall to watch Trevorrow's first film, Safety Not Guaranteed. Marshall was impressed by the film, and at the end of February 2013, he arranged a meeting between himself, Trevorrow and Spielberg regarding the Jurassic Park job. Trevorrow flew from his home in Vermont to Amblin's offices in Los Angeles, where he was subsequently hired without reading Jaffa and Silver's script, which was still being written. Universal announced Trevorrow as director on March 14, while adding that Patrick Crowley was a co-producer. Trevorrow had been a fan of the series since he saw the original film during its theatrical release. A year had been spent searching for a director. Spielberg, Marshall, and Kennedy had previously been impressed by Juan Antonio Bayona's 2012 film, The Impossible, and considered having him direct Jurassic World, but he declined as he felt there was not enough time for production. In April 2013, Jack Horner said in an interview that a new, previously extinct creature would rise to stardom in the film, saying, "I can't actually tell you who that will be... But you'll want to keep the lights on after you see this movie."
After reading Jaffa and Silver's draft, Trevorrow insisted on completely rewriting the script with writing partner Derek Connolly, who had never seen any of the Jurassic Park films prior to that point. Trevorrow had told the filmmakers, "if I direct this screenplay, it's going to be a bad movie. I'm gonna do a bad job, because I just don't get it." Trevorrow and Connolly wrote their own draft of the script over a couple of weeks. The studio received the draft on May 6, 2013, and found the script changes more large-scale than anticipated. On May 8, 2013, the studio announced it was pushing the release from June 13, 2014, to an unspecified future date. Filming had been set to begin June 24, 2013. Delaying the film allowed Trevorrow and Connolly more time to work on the script, as Spielberg felt that it needed improvement. Another reason for the delay was to allow time for the construction of practical sets for the fictional theme park; it was previously intended to add in these buildings using computer effects.
On May 2, 2013, Trevorrow tweeted a picture of Kauai taken during location scouting with the caption "Nublar", the name of the island in the original film. Later that month, Sam Neill said it was unlikely he would be a part of the film, stating, "I'm told it's a big reboot, a total re-jig." Trevorrow eventually tweeted that "Reboot is a strong word. This is a new sci-fi terror adventure set 22 years after the horrific events of Jurassic Park." In June 2013, a teaser banner for Jurassic Park 4 was revealed at Licensing Expo 2013, giving a 2015 release. That month, it was reported that the film would revolve around a fully functional dinosaur theme park.
On September 10, 2013, Universal Pictures confirmed the film would be titled Jurassic World and would be released on June 12, 2015. Trevorrow chose to rename the film from its previous title, Jurassic Park IV, to differentiate it from previous films in the series. Trevorrow also said that within the story, "if you named a theme park 'Jurassic Park' after the disaster that had happened it would be a horrible PR mistake."
In contrast to the prevalence of digital cinematography in the 2010s, cinematographer John Schwartzman used Panavision cameras shooting on a combination of Kodak 35mm and 65mm film. One of the 65mm cameras used on the production had been used in the past to shoot Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The reason the filmmakers chose to shoot Jurassic World on film stock, in addition to Spielberg's and Schwartzman's own personal preference for the format, was in an effort to match the visual aesthetic of the previous three film-shot Jurassic Park pictures, as well as the fact that the film's exterior jungle scenes required a greater dynamic range of light than digital cameras could provide. 65mm film was used for visual effect sequences as well as location shots where the filmmakers wanted extra visual impact. The film is presented in a 2.00:1 aspect ratio, an intermediate ratio that falls between the two industry standard widescreen aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 2.35:1. This was chosen because it allowed enough height for humans and dinosaurs to fit into the same frame without giving up a sense of scope, and closely matches the ratio of a digital IMAX screen. By February 7, 2014, Legendary Pictures had agreed to co-finance the film, and provided about 20% of the budget. China Film Group has been reported as also having financed the film. Thomas Tull of Legendary Pictures served as executive producer for the film with Spielberg.
Writing
Spielberg had three ideas that he wanted Jaffa and Silver to implement into the script: a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, a human who has a relationship with trained raptors (from Sayles' earlier draft), and a homicidal dinosaur that escapes and has to be stopped. Jaffa and Silver's draft, titled Jurassic Park IV, included an opening scene set in China, where the fossilized remains of a new dinosaur species would be discovered by a Chinese female paleontologist. In the draft, the remains would be stolen by a corporation with malicious intentions, ultimately leading the paleontologist and her two sons to visit Jurassic Park. Jaffa and Silver worked on the script for approximately a year, with input from Spielberg.
After the film was delayed in May 2013, Trevorrow and Connolly continued rewriting the script during the summer, and worked with Spielberg during that time to perfect it. Throughout the writing period, Trevorrow, Connolly and Spielberg had many meetings to discuss the film's story. David Koepp also met with Trevorrow and Connolly to advise them on the script. Koepp had previously written the first two films in the series, but at some point declined an offer to write the fourth film, as he felt that he had nothing left to contribute to the series. Trevorrow said that perfecting the script was the hardest part because Jurassic Park films "don't fit into a specific genre. They're sci-fi adventures that also have to be funny, emotional and scary as hell. That takes a lot of construction, but it can't feel designed."
To determine the film's story, Trevorrow and Connolly discussed world events that had occurred over the previous two decades; Trevorrow said that two main ideas emerged: "One was that money has been the gasoline in the engine of our biggest mistakes. If there are billions to be made, no one can resist them, even if they know things could end horribly. The other was that our relationship with technology has become so woven into our daily lives, we've become numb to the scientific miracles around us. We take so much for granted. [...] We imagined a teenager texting his girlfriend with his back to a T-Rex behind protective glass. For us, that image captured the way much of the audience feels about the movies themselves. 'We've seen CG dinosaurs. What else you got?'" Trevorrow also said Jurassic World was inspired by a quote from Ian Malcolm in the first film: "You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you wanna sell it." Trevorrow said Malcolm's quote inspired the large amount of product placement in the film.
Trevorrow and Connolly maintained Spielberg's three ideas, although Trevorrow felt that the concept of trained raptors, in its original form, was too extreme and had to be "pulled way, way, way back." A few months after being hired, Trevorrow read through each of the previous drafts that had been written for the film. Trevorrow commented that each of the previous drafts "tried to do something different" from the previous films in the series. Trevorrow called Sayles' initial draft "fascinating in a lot of ways. There were a lot of things I loved about it. It was properly bonkers. In a way, I aspired for our film, in its fearlessness and willingness, to go there." Trevorrow further stated that he was "interested in what the Sayles script was trying to do because it was so daring. It was trying to set a tone for how far forward we needed to push. The one thing about all those scripts is that it took us too far forward with man's progressions with dinosaurs." For Owen's relationship with the raptors, Trevorrow and Connelly were inspired by real-life relationships that people have formed with dangerous animals such as lions and alligators. In the film's first appearance of the raptors, the animals are ordered to not eat a live pig located in their enclosure; Trevorrow said that this "was as far as we should be able to go" with the concept of trained raptors.
Trevorrow and Connelly's rewrite of the script included new characters. Trevorrow wrote the characters of Hoskins, Masrani, and Wu, while Connelly wrote the children and female characters. In Jaffa and Silver's draft, the main character, who would ultimately become Owen, actively supported the militarization of the raptors from the beginning of the story. Trevorrow said that "if anyone's gonna militarize raptors that's what the bad guy does, he's insane." Trevorrow and Connolly's script changes altered the story so the viewer would first see the theme park from the perspective of a child. Trevorrow said that one of his goals was for the child characters of Zach and Gray to "not be annoying. And I think we pulled it off." Gray was initially written as having autism, a trait that was removed from the final draft.
Trevorrow and Connolly did not desire to write previous characters into the new film without a good reason for their return to the series; they considered the character of Dr. Henry Wu a logical choice, being the scientist responsible for recreating dinosaurs. In the first novel, Henry Wu had a much larger role, which was trimmed down for the film adaptation. Trevorrow said that the characters of Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm, and Ellie Sattler were not included in the script because, "I respect those actors too much to shoehorn them into this story for my own sentimental reasons. Jurassic Park isn't about the bad luck of three people who keep getting thrown into the same situation. The only reason they'd go back to that island is if the screenwriters contrived a reason for them to go." Trevorrow said that there were ways for viewers to feel nostalgia without having an actor reprise a role after so many years, which he believed "might make you feel old and remind you that you're on a slow march towards death, like the rest of us!"
Initially, the film's new dinosaur was known as Malusaurus. Within the story of Jaffa and Silver's draft, the new dinosaur would be depicted as a real animal, while it was actually a nonexistent species in reality. Trevorrow chose to make the dinosaur a genetically modified hybrid named Indominus rex, to maintain consistency with previous films in the series, which had incorporated the latest paleontological findings and discoveries: "I didn't wanna make up a new dinosaur and tell kids it was real." Trevorrow said the idea of a hybrid dinosaur was "not tremendously different from what they were doing in the first film, by adding frog DNA. It's the next level." In addition to the Indominus rex, the earlier draft by Trevorrow and Connelly also included a second hybrid dinosaur named Stegoceratops, consisting of DNA from Stegosaurus and Triceratops. However, Trevorrow chose to remove the animal from the final script after his son made him realize that featuring multiple hybrids would fail to make the Indominus unique.
In the Jaffa/Silver draft, the raptor hunt for the park's new and escaped dinosaur accounted for approximately the second half of the film. This was ultimately shortened by Trevorrow and Connelly. One scene inspired by Crichton's novel, The Lost World, involves Owen riding a motorcycle while his raptors race alongside him during their search for the Indominus. Spielberg had intended to include the scene as early as 2005, although his initial vision for the scene was more similar to its novel counterpart, in which humans on a motorcycle flee from raptors rather than cooperating with them. The Indominus' camouflage ability was also an aspect in The Lost World, which featured carnotaurs with the same ability.
Trevorrow said that the film "isn't a sequel or a reboot or a remake, it's all of those things in a strange way. My third rail was being derivative and making a carbon copy of Jurassic Park." Jurassic World features various references to Jurassic Park, and is considered a direct sequel to the first film; Trevorrow stated that the events of the previous two films were not relevant to the new film's story because they took place on a different island. Despite not being referenced in Jurassic World, Trevorrow said that the events of the film's predecessors were still canon in the film series.
Trevorrow suggested the idea of including a Mosasaurus as part of a theme park feeding show in which park-goers would watch from bleachers as the animal leaps out of a lagoon and catches its prey: a shark hanging above the water. Spielberg then suggested that the bleachers be lowered afterwards to give park guests a view of the creature in its aquatic habitat. The theme park's ball-shaped gyrosphere rides were another idea from Spielberg.
Regarding Zara's death scene, Trevorrow said: "It was the first time a woman was going to die in a Jurassic Park movie. We're an equal opportunities bunch of murderers! So we felt, 'Alright, let's make it the most spectacular death we can possibly imagine - let's involve multiple animals from sea and air...' [...] the earned death in these movies has become a bit standard and another thing I wanted to subvert. 'How can we surprise people? Let's have someone die who just doesn't deserve to die at all.'" Spielberg approved Trevorrow and Connolly's draft in September 2013.
Casting
Prior to the production delay in May 2013, actors Bryce Dallas Howard, David Oyelowo, and Garrett Hedlund had been considered for roles in the film. By August 15, 2013, John Krasinski was in talks for a role as a dinosaur tamer. In September 2013, Howard was in early negotiations to play a role, and was cast in early November. By mid-October, Ty Simpkins had been cast as the child lead, while Nick Robinson was cast as the older brother of Simpkins' character. Robinson and Simpkins had to perform a "scream test" prior to being cast. During mid-October, Jake Johnson was being considered for a role, while Josh Brolin was in talks to play the role of Owen. Brolin had been in early consideration, but ultimately did not receive an offer for the role as a final casting decision had not yet been made.
By mid-November 2013, Brolin was no longer in talks for the film, and Chris Pratt was in early negotiations for the role of Owen. Ron Howard, Bryce's father, confirmed through his Twitter in January 2014 that Pratt had been cast in a lead role. Trevorrow had been impressed by Pratt's acting in Zero Dark Thirty. Pratt had previously joked in 2010 that Spielberg had cast him in the film. Trevorrow said that when Pratt was cast, "we had no idea he'd become as big a star as he has. I just cast a bunch of character actors, as all Jurassic Park movies have. And somehow we ended up with a movie star." Pratt described his character as a combination of Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm: "He's got a little bit of the Goldblum cynicism but also the Sam Neill excitement at the wonder of the biology of it all, so it's a combination." Although Pratt received top billing in the cast, Trevorrow stated that Howard's character, Claire, is the lead character.
By February 28, Vincent D'Onofrio had joined the cast to play the film's antagonist. Irrfan Khan was also cast as head of the Masrani Corporation, now in ownership of Isla Nublar and the park. That same month, Trevorrow confirmed that B. D. Wong would reprise his role as Dr. Henry Wu, and said the character would have a more significant role than in the original film. On March 21, 2014, French actor Omar Sy announced he had joined the cast. Trevorrow had admired Sy's acting, and wrote the character of Barry with him in mind for the role. Trevorrow also said that he cast actors such as Sy because they were well known in different parts of the world, stating that "this is a global film and Jurassic Park doesn't belong to just America." On March 26, 2014, actor Jake Johnson confirmed his role in Jurassic World as a tech-savvy operations overseer named Lowery. By April 3, Judy Greer, Katie McGrath, and Lauren Lapkus had joined the cast. By May 7, Andy Buckley was also cast. By June 27, James Dumont had also joined the cast.
Filming
Principal photography and production began on April 10, 2014, at Hawaii's Honolulu Zoo, where an elephant paddock was used as Jurassic World's petting zoo. Filming continued for four weeks on O?ahu. Filming in Hawaii was limited to three hours on some days because of torrential rain. The Indominus paddock, measuring 40 feet high, was built at O?ahu's Kualoa Ranch, where the Gyrosphere departure platform was also built; both sets were left standing after production to become tourist attractions. At the end of April, interior scenes were filmed at the Hawaii Convention Center. The film's ending - in which park guests are evacuated to an airplane hangar set up as a shelter - was filmed at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on Ford Island. Filming moved to Kaua?i on May 15, 2014, and concluded there on June 6, 2014.
Jurassic World was also shot in Louisiana, to take advantage of the state's tax incentives, making it the first film in the series not to be shot at studios in Los Angeles. Filming was scheduled to remain in Louisiana for eleven weeks. Filming in Louisiana began in June 2014, at New Orleans' abandoned Six Flags theme park; filming continued there for approximately two weeks. Jurassic World's Main Street and boardwalk, measuring 300 feet by 200 feet, was constructed in the Six Flags parking lot, but the theme park itself was not used for filming. One of Main Street's restaurants is named Winston's, after Stan Winston, who died in 2008. A statue of Attenborough's character, John Hammond, is also featured in the film. Although Goldblum did not reprise his role as Ian Malcolm, the character makes two brief appearances in the film as pictured on a fictional book written by the character.
Singer Jimmy Buffett, a friend of Marshall, has a brief non-speaking cameo appearance during the film's pterosaur attack sequence. A Margaritaville restaurant, part of a chain owned by Buffett, is among the buildings constructed as part of Jurassic World's Main Street; the restaurant is one of several buildings destroyed during the battle between the T. rex and the Indominus. Trevorrow based the pterosaur attack sequence on triptych paintings by Hieronymus Bosch that featured various details for their admirers to observe. Trevorrow said about the scene, "I wanted to be able to step back and look at these tableaus of chaotic action and allow people who watch the movie over and over again, if one is interested in doing that, to always see a different story as you look specifically at different parts of the frame." McGrath performed her own stunts for the scene depicting the death of her character, Zara.
A majority of the filming in New Orleans took place at Big Easy Studios inside NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility complex in East New Orleans. Interior scenes, including the visitor's center, control room, and laboratories, were shot at the Michoud facility. Jack Horner helped designed the educational displays in the Jurassic World visitor center. Approximately 200 extras, acting as park guests sitting on bleachers, were doused with large amounts of water as part of a scene depicting the Mosasaurus feeding show, which was shot on an outdoor set at the Michoud facility. The raptor enclosure, a 20-foot-high outdoor structure built out in an octagonal shape, was also constructed at the Michoud facility. One jungle scene was shot on a soundstage in Louisiana, while the rest were previously shot in Hawaii. On June 30, 2014, Robinson, Simpkins, and Greer filmed scenes at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. In July 2014, fake snow was used for scenes shot in New Orleans that depicted Zach and Gray's house in Wisconsin. An evacuation scene was filmed at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, while swamp scenes were filmed in Slidell, Louisiana.
Scroggins Aviation Mockup & Effects was called in to fabricate and build the Blue Eurocopter EC130 T2 airframe body, known as "JW001" in the film, while 32TEN Studios created the automatic Jurassic World gates and various practical effects such as explosions. To aid in the design of the Jurassic World control room, Trevorrow and Crowley visited the control rooms at various Universal and Disney theme parks prior to filming. However, Trevorrow and Crowley were disappointed by the unexciting appearance of real-life control rooms and chose to have the Jurassic World control room be more elaborate than its real-life counterparts. Part of the fight scene between the T. rex and the Indominus was inspired by a video clip that Spielberg shot of his dogs growling and lunging at each other. At one point during filming, Pratt crashed his motorcycle and suffered minor injuries. The film was shot under the codename of Ebb Tide, a title chosen by Spielberg before Trevorrow was hired. During filming, Trevorrow confirmed reports that the story involved a functioning dinosaur theme park and a hybrid dinosaur. Trevorrow expressed disappointment that such details could not be kept secretive until the film's release. During filming, the Indominus rex was also known as Diabolus rex, a name that Trevorrow devised to maintain secrecy on the project.
On August 5, 2014, Trevorrow announced on Twitter that filming had wrapped after a 78-day shoot. Spielberg did not visit the set, although he watched footage of the film at the end of each production day, and sometimes offered advice to Trevorrow regarding how to shoot certain scenes. Schwartzman made extensive use of the Technocrane telescopic crane, which Crowley described as fitting for a thriller, "being able to march into people, to get in closer and closer, as they realize that there's something out there." Tracking shots, particularly those that would serve as reference to the visual effects team, employed the Spydercam.
Deleted scenes
Trevorrow shot many scenes with two different versions so he would have options on which version to use for the final film. One scene that was deleted from the final film featured a kiss between the characters of Vivian and Lowery. The kiss scene was removed as the film already contained such a scene between Owen and Claire; Trevorrow said, "I knew I could only pull off one kiss in this movie. There could be only one." A comedic scene featuring Howard's character and dinosaur feces, similar to Laura Dern's scene in the original Jurassic Park, was cut and not included in the cinematic release. Another deleted scene occurs during the fight between the T. rex and the Indominus, which initially would have been witnessed by park guests. Trevorrow chose not to include the scene as it could not be seamlessly added into the film without disrupting the fight scene, which was primarily filmed in a single shot.
During a conversation scene between Wu and Masrani, a line of dialogue was cut in which Wu asks, "How long do you think you can control it? We won't always be the only ones who can make a dinosaur." An unfilmed scene would have involved the Indominus rex being startled by an animatronic T. rex at the park, and subsequently tearing the head off of the animatronic animal. Spielberg objected to the scene because he believed it would be disrespectful to Stan Winston for suggesting that computer-animated dinosaurs are better than animatronics.
Creatures on screen
Jurassic World is the first film in the series without the involvement of Stan Winston, who died in 2008. Instead the animatronic dinosaurs were handled by Winston's former alumni at Legacy Effects, many of whom had worked on the previous three films. Ultimately, Legacy Effects contributed lighting reference models as well as a practically built animatronic. Visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) also returned to create dinosaurs through computer-generated imagery. In addition, Image Engine also worked on the film's creatures. While Tim Alexander served as visual effects supervisor, Jurassic Park supervisor Dennis Muren provided various advice to the ILM crew, such as how to light the dinosaurs.
The computer-generated creatures - including those seen in the park's petting zoo - were created with motion capture, using human actors to perform the animals' movements, marking the first time that motion capture technology had been used in the making of a dinosaur film. Regarding the change in technology since the previous Jurassic Park film, Trevorrow said, "We got to build everyone from the ground up because technology has changed so much that everything is a rebuild." Trevorrow included several creatures in the film that he felt had always deserved a big scene in the franchise, but also stated "I didn't want to just throw the kitchen sink at it. Each of these movies has done a good job at just very carefully, in a measured way, increasing the new dinosaurs that you see." Several creatures make notable appearances in the film:
- Indominus rex: In addition to the DNA of T. rex, Velociraptor and cuttlefish, the film's theme park website states that the creature also has the DNA of Carnotaurus, Giganotosaurus, Majungasaurus, and Rugops. Trevorrow stated that the animal's mixed DNA allowed the creature to have attributes "that no dinosaur was known to have." ILM conducted many animation tests to examine the creature's unique characteristics, which included its long arms, raptor claws, and small thumbs; its ability to walk on four legs and push itself up from the ground with its claws; and its ability to throw things with its claws. Glen McIntosh, the animation supervisor for ILM, said, "We did a bunch of animation tests to explore that. We found that if you overanimated or made it too anthropomorphic and human-like in its movement, it feels it. The goal was to always make sure she felt like a gigantic animal that was a theropod but taking advantage of its extra features." Several fifth scale maquettes of the Indominus rex were created for lighting reference.
- The film's velociraptors were primarily created through motion capture. Image Engine finished the scenes using the motion capture information and ILM's dinosaur models. Legacy Effects also provided one of the full-sized raptor models built for Jurassic Park to the ILM crew as reference. Life-size maquettes of the raptors were also used during scenes in which the creatures are caged.
- Several individuals of Apatosaurus are featured in the film, including a practically built animatronic that was used for a sequence filmed in a field in Kaua?i, Hawaii. Because of the cost, Crowley was initially hesitant to have an animatronic created for the film, but Trevorrow convinced him that fans of the series would enjoy it. The animatronic consisted of a seven-foot-long section of the dinosaur's neck, which was used for a close-up shot depicting the animal's death. ILM used elephants as an example of how to animate the Apatosaurus. McIntosh stated that "there are no existing animals that have such large necks, but in terms of the size and steps they're taking, elephants are an excellent example of that. Also the way their skin jiggles and sags. You also have impact tremors that rise up through their legs as they take steps." Legacy Effects initially created a small model of the creature for use in the film, but Spielberg decided that a larger model would be better. The original model was scanned into a computer, allowing artists to create a 3D printing in the desired size needed for the film.
- The film's Tyrannosaurus rex is meant to be the same individual from the first film. Trevorrow said "we took the original design and obviously, technology has changed. So, it's going to move a little bit differently, but it'll move differently because it's older. And we're giving her some scars and we're tightening her skin. So, she has that feeling of, like, an older Burt Lancaster." The T. rex was portrayed through motion capture, and a full scale T. rex foot was created for lighting reference and to help with framing up shots.
- According to Trevorrow, the film's Mosasaurus was designed to resemble designs that Winston had done for dinosaurs in the franchise's earlier films: "We made sure to give her a look and a kind of personality in the way we designed her face that recalled Stan Winston's designs for many of the other dinosaurs in this world. She looks like a Jurassic Park dinosaur."
- Dimorphodon appears in Jurassic World, marking its first appearance in the series. Through motion-capture, dwarf actor Martin Klebba stood in as a Dimorphodon for a scene in which one of the creatures attempts to attack Owen. A full scale head of the creature was also created for the scene.
- Pteranodon
- Pachycephalosaurus and Parasaurolophus.
- Ankylosaurus, one of Trevorrow's favorite dinosaurs, is featured in the film, being one of several creatures that he felt was deserving of a substantial scene. Trevorrow noted the death of one of the ankylosaurs as an example of moments in the film "that are designed to really make these creatures feel like living animals that you can connect to. Especially since so many of the themes in the film involve our relationship with animals on the planet right now, I wanted them to feel real."
- Stegosaurus and Triceratops appear in the film; for their movements, which included running, ILM studied the movements of rhinos and elephants and copied such movements when animating the dinosaurs. According to Trevorrow, "In certain shots, you're looking at real animals running that just have a dinosaur's skin laid over."
- A running herd of approximately 60 Gallimimus makes an appearance in Jurassic World. Image Engine created the scene with more than 400 frames, consisting of up to 50 layers that included clumps of grass and dirt, as well as dust. Artists for Image Engine often viewed the dinosaur specie's appearance in the first film, in which a group of Gallimimus are also depicted as running. Jeremy Mesana, animation supervisor for Image Engine, said, "We were always going back and staring at that little snippet from the first film. It was always interesting trying to find the feeling of the Gallimimus. Trying to capture the same essence of that original shot was really tricky."
- Dilophosaurus appeared in the first film and makes a brief appearance in Jurassic World as a hologram in the theme park's visitor center.
Music
The musical score was composed by Michael Giacchino, who had previously scored the video games Warpath: Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Themes from John Williams' previous Jurassic Park scores were also incorporated by Giacchino. "It was a really targeted approach, as to where to [include Williams' themes] and where would make the most sense and where would we most appreciate it, as fans ourselves," said Giacchino. A soundtrack album was released on June 9, 2015, by Back Lot Music.
Marketing and promotion
The first official pictures of the film set were released on April 23, 2014, followed by the release of the first film stills in June 2014. During the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014, 500 copies of a limited-edition Jurassic World poster by Mark Englert were given out at the convention. Audiences at the convention were disappointed by the lack of Jurassic World footage; what they initially believed to be footage for the film was actually a teaser trailer announcement for Legendary Pictures' upcoming film, Skull Island.
Two viral marketing websites, for the fictional Masrani Global Corporation and for the Jurassic World theme park, were launched on November 17, 2014. The Masrani website was created by Jack Ewins and Timothy Glover, two Jurassic Park fans who had earlier created a website for the fictional Patel Corporation, as Khan was initially reported to be playing a park owner with the surname Patel. After the Patel website was mistaken by some people as an official website associated with the film, Ewins and Glover were contacted and hired by Universal in April 2014 to design the official Masrani website and to add their own backstory details to it.
The Masrani website included information that was absent from the film and details the company's purchase of InGen, as well as the park's origins. The Masrani website also included videos starring D'Onofrio and Wong in their roles as they speak about the fictional company. Paleontologist Brian Switek was hired in early 2015 to ensure the accuracy of dinosaur information on the film's theme park website. Trevorrow sometimes stayed up late to write fictional customer comments for the theme park website, and said, "It was then that I realized I'd gone too far down the rabbit hole." Closed circuit footage that was featured on the control room's video monitors was filmed during production and was also added to the theme park website.
A short teaser trailer was released online on November 23, 2014. The first full trailer was released online on November 25, 2014; it had initially been scheduled to air on NBC two days later, during a Thanksgiving football game. A television advertisement premiered during Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015. A clip from the film was aired on MTV on April 8, 2015, and depicted the character of Owen arguing with Claire about the treatment of the park's dinosaurs. Film director and writer Joss Whedon criticized the clip, calling it "'70s-era sexist." Referring to Pratt and Howard's characters, Whedon stated, "She's a stiff, he's a life-force -- really? Still?" Trevorrow later stated that he was not bothered by Whedon's comments and that "to be honest, I don't totally disagree with him. I wonder why [Universal] chose a clip like that, that shows an isolated situation within a movie that has an internal logic. That starts with characters that are almost archetypes, stereotypes that are deconstructed as the story progresses." Howard also considered the clip to be a marketing mistake.
Later in April 2015, three new posters for the film were released during a three-day period leading up to the premiere of the final trailer. Trevorrow was disappointed with Universal because he felt that the trailers had shown "far more of this movie than I would have ever wanted." Because of the film's cost, Trevorrow stated that the trailers included scenes which Universal felt were necessary to ensure the film's financial success, after the studio was disappointed by Jurassic Park III's box-office performance. Universal spent a total of $34.9 million on TV advertisements for the film. Various companies served as promotional partners, such as Kellogg's, Dairy Queen, and Barbasol. Lego and Hasbro released toys based on the film. A video game based on the film, Lego Jurassic World, and an iOS/Android application produced by Ludia, Jurassic World: The Game, were released in 2015. Tippett Studio worked with Universal and Efexio to create the Jurassic World Mobile MovieMaker app, which adds dinosaurs to a photo background.
- Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape (2016)
In October 2016, a 24-minute children's animated film titled Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape was released as part of a Jurassic World DVD bundle set, receiving shared billing alongside the 2015 film. The film marks the first time an animated film spin-off of Jurassic Park has been released. The film is a prequel to Jurassic World, and features most of the primary adult characters on the island (with the exception of Barry and Zara) attempting to capture a hotdog-loving Indominus rex. Zachary Levi and Sendhil Ramamurthy joined Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus, Bryce Dallas Howard and B. D. Wong as voice actors. The film received a 36% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Lego Jurassic World: Employee Safety Video (2016)
With the individual release of The Indominus Escape, a short film, Lego Jurassic World: Employee Safety Video, was released, featuring B. D. Wong, David Gunning, Jake Johnson and Lauren Lapkus reprising their roles from The Indominus Escape.
Release
Jurassic World held its first premiere on May 29, 2015, in Paris, France at the Grand Rex cinema. The film's theatrical release happened in 66 territories from June 10 to 12, with North America having advance screenings at Majestic 10 Cinemas in Williston, Vermont on the 10th, before opening on 4,273 venues, the largest ever screen count for Universal, two days later. Japan was the last market where the movie was released, on August 5.
Worldwide, Jurassic World was released across 809 IMAX theaters (364 of which were in North America), making it the third-largest worldwide rollout for any movie in IMAX's history and the largest day-and-date IMAX release ever. Universal relaunched the film in IMAX 3D in theaters on August 28, 2015, for one week in the United States and Canada.
Home media
Jurassic World was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on October 20, 2015. Upon release, it sold nearly three million Blu-ray and DVD units in its first week, making it the highest-selling home entertainment live-action film both for Universal and of 2015. Across all digital and physical formats, Jurassic World generated $82.6 million in its first week. At the end of 2015, it was named the second-highest selling video of the year in the UK, selling 1.05 million copies since its release. It was the third-highest-selling DVD and the second-highest-selling Blu-ray in the country.
Charts
The DVD debuted at number-one on the UK DVD Charts.
Reception
Box office
Jurassic World grossed $652.3 million in the United States and Canada and $1.019 billion in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.672 billion, against a production budget of $150 million. It set a box office record during its opening weekend, becoming the first film in cinematic history which had generated over $500 million in a single weekend, and was the third-highest-grossing film of all time in both the USA and Canada and the world during its theatrical run. It is the second-highest-grossing among all films released in 2015 and the highest in the Jurassic Park franchise. It is the second film following Furious 7 to pass $1 million in 4DX admissions worldwide. Deadline.com calculated the net profit of the film to be $474.63 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.
North America
Predictions for the opening of Jurassic World in the U.S.A. and Canada were continuously revised upwards, starting from $125 million to $200 million. It opened on Friday, June 12, 2015 in 4,274 theaters and earned $81.9 million on its opening day, marking the fifth-biggest opening day and fifth-biggest single-day gross. The film's Friday gross included an $18.5 million from 3,229 theaters in its early Thursday showings, a record for Universal. Without Thursday night grosses, the film earned the largest opening-day gross ($63.5 million). It also set a single-day IMAX record ($8.6 million) and a Saturday and Sunday gross record ($69.6 million and $57.2 million respectively). In total, it earned $208,806,270 for its debut weekend, setting an opening-weekend record, and an IMAX opening record of $20.6 million (10.2% of the total opening gross) from 363 IMAX theaters. 3D accounted for 48% of the total opening gross. RealD 3D comprised $70 million of the opening gross. It is also the biggest opening for Chris Pratt. The opening-weekend audience was evenly split among those under and over the age of 25, with 52% of the audience male, 48% female, 39% under age 25, 61% age 25 years and above.
It set a record for the largest second-weekend gross, dropping by 49% to $106.6 million and it topped the North American box office for three consecutive weekends. Other records set by the film at the time included the biggest weekend per-theater average for a wide release ($48,855 per theater), the fastest film to reach $100 million and each additional $50 million through $600 million, and the largest cumulative gross through every day of release until, and including, its fifty-third day (with the exception of its first day). As of June 21, 2015, RealD, IMAX and premium large format had grossed a total of $132 million, $42 million and $23.1 million respectively. On Friday, July 17, 2015, the movie hit the $600 million mark, becoming the fourth and fastest to do so in 36 days. On Friday, August 28, 2015 the film was re-launched in 350 IMAX theaters earning $3.1 million through the weekend. Through September 5, 2015 IMAX contributed 9% or $56 million of its total revenue. It ended its theatrical run on November 19, 2015, playing for a total of 161 days in theaters and earning a total of $652,270,625, which is 39% of its total worldwide gross. It became the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, the second-highest-grossing film of 2015, the highest-grossing Universal Pictures film, the highest-grossing Legendary Pictures film, and the highest-grossing film in the Jurassic Park franchise. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold more than 70 million tickets in the US.
Outside North America
Jurassic World was released in approximately 63 countries. Outside the United States and Canada, the film opened on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, in 8 countries, earning $24 million. On Thursday, June 11, it grossed another $46 million from 37 markets for a two-day total of $70 million from 45 countries. It added 21 more countries on June 12, earning $60 million, which is Universal's highest-grossing international Friday of all time, for a three-day total of $130 million from 66 countries. Through Sunday, June 14, it had a five-day opening weekend total of $316.1 million from 66 countries from 19,612 screens, representing 31% of its total overseas gross and setting an opening-weekend record. This included an IMAX opening record of $23.5 million from 443 IMAX theaters in 56 countries. 65% of its grosses came from 3D (equivalent to $205 million). Additional record includes the highest single-day IMAX gross with $6.5 million on Saturday, June 12, 2015. Revenues in its second weekend dropped by 47.4% to $166.7 million, according to Box Office Mojo, while Deadline.com reported a 48.3% drop to $163.4 million. It topped the box office outside of North America for three consecutive weekends.
It had the biggest opening day of all time for Universal in Hong Kong; the second-biggest in Australia, France, Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, and South Korea; and the biggest opening day of all time in Panama. It also scored the biggest opening for Universal in nine countries, including Australia, China, Ecuador, France, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, the UK, Ireland, and Malta. In China, it grossed $17.77 million on its opening day (including $1.39 million from midnight runs), which is the tenth-biggest of all time and went on to earn $100.1 million in its opening weekend, which is the third-biggest of all time. It also scored the second-biggest IMAX opening there with $11.8 million. Following China, its largest openings outside of the U.S. and Canada, occurred in the UK, Ireland and Malta ($30.1 million), France and the Maghreb region ($14.7 million), Mexico ($14.6 million), South Korea ($14.2 million) and Japan ($13 million). In South Korea, the film was released during the 2015 MERS outbreak, which resulted in a plunge in film attendance beginning from late May 2015. This led to various local film distributors changing or postponing local films' release dates. However, since U.S. film studios are debarred from altering their scheduled dates, the film had to be released on its intended date.
It became the highest-grossing film in the Jurassic Park film series in 25 countries. IMAX tickets sales has grossed a total of $42.1 million as of June 21, 2015. In total earnings, its largest markets outside of the U.S. are China with $228 million followed by the UK, Ireland and Malta ($97.8 million), Japan ($69.2 million), South Korea ($41.79 million), Mexico ($41.73 million), India($16.10 million) and Germany ($41.6 million).
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 309 reviews and an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Jurassic World can't match the original for sheer inventiveness and impact, but it works in its own right as an entertaining - and visually dazzling - popcorn thriller." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 59 out of 100 based on 49 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five and felt that it was "terrifically enjoyable and exciting summer spectacular" and "savvy, funny, ridiculous in just the right way". Robbie Collin of The Telegraph also awarded it four stars, deeming it a worthy sequel to the original Jurassic Park, and called it "methodically paced and shot with an awestruck visual sense that's pure Spielberg". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it three out of four stars and wrote: "It's not the cynical, cash-in cheesefest you feared. OK, Jurassic World is a little of that. But this state-of-the-art dino epic is also more than a blast of rumbling, roaring, 'did you effing see that!' fun." He praised Trevorrow's direction, Pratt's and Howard's performances and the effects. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy criticized the romance between Owen and Claire and felt that the film was not terribly scary, but praised the CGI and score, and wrote that the film nevertheless would be appealing to audiences everywhere.
The Associated Press rated the film two stars out of four and called it "an ugly, over-saturated movie" that lacks the "deft sense of wonderment, wit and suspense that guided the original". However, the review praised the film's score, as well as Pratt and Howard's performances. Spielberg said, "To see 'Jurassic World' come to life is almost like seeing 'Jurassic Park' come true," while Sam Neill also praised the film and its acting. Several news publications, as well as Neill, noted the violence of Zara's death scene, although Entertainment Weekly wrote, "There's nothing amusing about the demise of Zara, who's as close to 'real people' as Jurassic World gets, and it's that unsettling quality about her death that more Hollywood disaster epics need in order to reclaim their visceral emotional prowess." Several news outlets, including The New York Times, New York, and Slate, considered the film's depiction of Claire to be sexist, including her use of high heels throughout the film.
Several journalists have noted plot and character similarities between Jurassic World and the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea. Christopher Rosen, Senior News Director at Entertainment Weekly, tweeted that "Jurassic World is my favorite Deep Blue Sea remake of 2015". Major entertainment website Dark Horizons stated in its coverage of Jurassic World that "some aren't warming to the Deep Blue Sea meets Jaws 3-D storyline", while entertainment website Flickering Myth posted the story "Deja Vu: Isn't Jurassic World just Deep Blue Sea with dinosaurs?", which outlined plot and character similarities between the two films. Pop culture website The Complex stated Jurassic World was "basically going to be the big budget Deep Blue Sea re-imagining that we all deserve. Scientists, driven by a cold near-heartless leader, tinkering with already smart animals. The beast whisperer who warns against fucking with nature. It's like watching Saffron Burrows and Thomas Jane flirt all over again."
Accolades
In December 2015, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences placed Jurassic World on its shortlist of potential nominees for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 88th Academy Awards. While it ultimately was not nominated for a position, the film received the following nominations and awards from various organizations:
Controversies
Scientific accuracy
A Twitter post attributed to Trevorrow stated there would be no feathered dinosaurs in the film. While the first Jurassic Park film was lauded by paleontologists for depicting dinosaurs accurately and in line with the science of the time, subsequent discoveries have challenged the view of dinosaurs as slow and giant lizard-like reptiles. Jurassic World has been criticized for purposely ignoring new discoveries and knowledge. Several dinosaur experts are calling the film a "dumb monster movie" for failing to include new discoveries about the creatures, such as some dinosaurs being covered with feathers or proto-feathers, and the way Velociraptors held their front limbs. Since the film's teaser trailer release, many paleontologists expressed their disappointment on Twitter, Facebook and their own blogs, calling the dinosaurs that were featured a retrograde step from the original Jurassic Park.
In response to these criticisms, Trevorrow said that "the film is scientifically 'inaccurate' because it is a science-fiction movie and not a documentary." Feathered dinosaurs had been planned early in the film's development. A faux review on the film's theme park website speculates that the use of amphibian DNA to fill the gaps in the dinosaur DNA (a plot point in the original novel and film) prevented the dinosaurs from growing feathers. In the film, there is a scene in which character Dr. Henry Wu (portrayed by B. D. Wong) informs Simon Masrani (portrayed by Irrfan Khan) that had the scientists not included DNA from various other animals, the dinosaurs "would look very different". Wu then reminds Masrani that he had asked for "cooler" dinosaurs, rather than ones that would be scientifically accurate.
Writing credits dispute
At the end of March 2015, a Writers Guild of America (WGA) arbitration panel ruled that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would receive credit for writing the screenplay with Trevorrow and Connolly. Trevorrow and Connolly strongly disagreed with the decision, although they decided that under WGA rules, they did not have grounds to appeal. They accepted the ruling on March 31, 2015. On April 2, 2015, it was reported that Universal Pictures originally wanted Trevorrow and Connolly to be credited for the screenplay. In the film's Super Bowl trailer, Trevorrow and Connolly were credited for writing the film. It was then reported that they appealed the WGA's decision, that they wrote an entirely new screenplay that was not based on Jaffa and Silver's draft, and that they wanted full writing credit for the script.
On April 7, 2015, it was reported that the arbiters had unanimously denied Trevorrow and Connolly's appeal in a second hearing held on April 3, and that they gave Jaffa and Silver an additional credit for writing the original story, with the decision being appealed by Trevorrow and Connolly. Later that day, Trevorrow denied that he and Connolly appealed the WGA's original decision of giving Jaffa and Silver co-credit for the screenplay, despite disagreeing with it. He also stated that he and Connolly were not informed of the second hearing until it was already over. The credits of the screenplay ultimately went to both writing teams, with Jaffa and Silver also being credited for writing the original story.
Sequel
A sequel, titled Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, is scheduled for release in June 2018. Trevorrow and Connolly returned to write the script for the sequel, which will feature Pratt and Howard reprising their roles. Trevorrow had previously said in 2014, "We wanted to create something that would be a little bit less arbitrary and episodic, and something that could potentially arc into a series that would feel like a complete story." In May 2015, Trevorrow confirmed that he would not be returning to direct a sequel, and he instead acted as an executive producer with Spielberg. J. A. Bayona directed the film, which will serve as the middle chapter of a planned Jurassic World trilogy. Filming took place from February to July 2017.
See also
- List of films featuring dinosaurs
References
External links
- Official website
- Jurassic World at Rotten Tomatoes
- Masrani Global Corporation (fictional) website
- Jurassic World on IMDb
- Jurassic World at AllMovie
- Jurassic World News & Updates
- Official UK Jurassic World International website
- Jurassic World Trailer on YouTube
Source of the article : Wikipedia