The "Jurassic World" franchise flexes as one of the last-standing international powerhouses

"Jurassic World Rebirth" comfortably won the Fourth of July weekend. It made a robust $147.3 million, but that was over a five-day stretch as the movie hit theaters all the way on Wednesday. This is comfortably a step down for the franchise, though. Both "Jurassic World" and "Fallen Kingdom" made more money over three-day weekends, and "Dominion" was only a couple million behind that. Over its first five days, "Dominion" made $172 million. It would seem, domestically, that people are tiring on this franchise and didn't need another reboot. Don't expect this to be the end, though, because there's the rest of the world.

"Rebirth" made $171 million across the rest of the world, meaning it has brought in roughly $318 million in its first weekend. Will this movie eke past a billion dollars, as "Dominion" did? Maybe not, but if it does, it will be because "Jurassic World" is one of the only franchises left standing that really bets on the international audience.

The "Jurassic World" Instagram is teeming with photos of the cast doing press junkets in Asia, and the fact they went to Shanghai, China is crucial to understanding the success of this franchise, and why Universal went in for another reboot. China is no longer a significant generator of revenue for most American movies, but the "Jurassic World" franchise remains an exception. "Rebirth" also apparently hit big in India, aka the country with the highest population in the world.

The franchise that used to be the sterling example of this is "Pirates of the Caribbean. The fatigue for those movies hit here pretty early with the last two grossing under $250 million domestically. "On Stranger Tides" cost a deranged $387.5 million to make in 2011, and it made $241 million domestically. It didn't matter, because it made over $800 million overseas. 

So yeah, maybe the fact that "Jurassic World Rebirth" didn't draw as well as the other films in the franchise even with the Fourth of July weekend indicates the United States is good on the whole dinosaurs thing. Domestically, there's a decent chance it doesn't finish in the top five highest-grossing movies. Worldwide, though, it will, and that means get ready for another one. 

(h/t Variety)