By Rebecca Rubin

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com – “Jurassic World Dominion”, a film about the rebirth of the dinosaur, soared to number one on box-office charts with a record $143M in domestic box office.

The sixth installment in Universal’s epic dinosaur story is receiving rave reviews. However, it still managed to dominate the domestic box-office over the weekend. According to Comscore, this is only the third occasion that total ticket sales have exceeded $200 million in the pandemic period. Comscore also attributes this to the continued popularity of Top Gun: Maverick, which still ranks second.

Tom Cruise’s beloved blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick,” despite the deafening sounds of “Jurassic World”, held strong and earned $50 million at 4,262 North American theatres. This was its third weekend. It’s an impressive turnout for any movie at this stage in its theatrical run. But it’s even better to do so at a time when “Dominion’ is packing a significant punch at the boxoffice.

In comparison, “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, which grossed $56M in its third week, “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness” made $32M in its second weekend and “The Batman” with Robert Pattinson earned $36M in its 3rd weekend. Between Friday and Sunday, “Top Gun: Maverick,” which generated an astounding $393.3 million so far, earned $50 millions (a 44% decrease from last weekend).

Although “Dominion’s” initial box office returns show some decline, it is still making huge money. The latest installment of the prehistoric series is expected to make a big impression at the box-office. The movie “Jurassic World”, which relaunched the “Jurassic Park” trilogy, grossed a staggering $208 million. It ended its theatrical run in North America with $653m and global revenues of $1.6billion. Its sequel, 2018’s “Fallen Kingdom,” debuted to a softer-but-still-spectacular $150 million and tapped out with $417 million domestically and $1.3 billion worldwide.

David A. says, “This opening is excellent.” Gross runs Franchise Entertainment Research’s movie consulting company. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Reviews can be weak but this has not stopped them.”