Kinda crazy thinking that an animal species that went extinct 65 million years ago is one of our biggest box office attractions. But it's the dinosaurs people pay to see. Sure, there's Chris Pratt as Owen, Sam Neil as Alan Grant, and of course, Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm. What's also interesting is that Jurassic Park is the only franchise on this list that features non-human stars. Three of the five Jurassic Park films have set the opening weekend record, and all of them have been hits (yes, even Jurassic Park III). In hindsight, we shouldn't have been shocked. Alas, this was one summer Marvel didn't win, and instead it went to the dinosaurs. Daniel Craigs last outing as the British spy made 729.1 million worldwide, knocking Fast 9 - who made 725.3 million - out of the number 1 spot. Entertainment Weekly reports that the domestic box office takings of 2.7 million over the weekend sent the film over the 700 million mark. Summer 2015 was supposed to belong to Avengers: Age of Ultron. No Time to Die is the highest-grossing film of the year and the highest-grossing film of the pandemic era. While Jurassic World held the record for only six months, one of the shortest reigns of any film on this list, it wasn't supposed to happen at all. When that nostalgia is paired with a fresh take on a beloved franchise that has lain dormant for 14 years, you get Jurassic World's $208 million domestic opening weekend record. The Force Awakens was an unparalleled double whammy - it opened like a summer blockbuster, but had legs like a holiday release, and it remains the highest-grossing domestic release of all time at $936 million. The top three opening weekends in December are Star Wars films, but the highest non- Star Wars December opening (and former December record-holder) is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, at $84 million - which means The Force Awakens beat the previous December opening by 66 percent. During the holiday season you'll usually see lower openings but higher final earnings, because audiences see movies at different times. Most opening weekend records are set in the summer, when people rush to the theater because a new blockbuster opens every weekend.
More impressively, it set the opening weekend record in December, one of only two holiday releases on this list. It beat the previous record holder, Jurassic World, by 16 percent. This chart contains figures for the Biggest September Weekends at the Domestic Box Office. Believe it or not, this is the only Star Wars film on this list, but The Force Awakens' domestic opening weekend record of $247 million is historic for other reasons.