‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Sinks Russell Crowe’s Controversial $160 Million Biblical Epic at Global Box Office

In just one week of release in theaters worldwide, Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth is set to pass the $350 million milestone at the global box office. The seventh installment in the long-running action-adventure franchise got off to a fantastic start last week, despite mixed reviews. This weekend, the movie should be able to pass the $500 million mark, and shortly afterward, it’ll overtake the $360 million lifetime haul of Jurassic Park III. All three of its predecessors were also able to pass the coveted $1 billion milestone at the worldwide box office, which is a big reason why Universal fast-tracked Rebirth without a director attached.

The film entered pre-production before Gareth Edwards was hired at the helm. Edwards has spent the last decade or so toiling away on original projects, but the offer to direct Rebirth was simply too enticing to turn down. He had a difficult time getting back on his feet after the tumultuous production of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which survived those difficulties and managed to hit $1 billion globally. Before that, he made the Godzilla reboot, which has spawned a massive franchise of its own. Edwards’ last film was The Creator, which opened to an underwhelming box office response a couple of years ago.

In passing the $350 million mark at the worldwide box office, Rebirth has pushed Edwards’ career box office haul past the $2 billion milestone worldwide. The movie has also overtaken hits such as The Maze Runner, Now You See Me, and Noah. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Russell Crowe, Noah was produced on a reported budget of $160 million. The Biblical epic opened to mostly positive reviews, but proved to be divisive among crowds. It holds a 41% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “With sweeping visuals grounded by strong performances in service of a timeless tale told on a human scale, Darren Aronofsky’s Noah brings the Bible epic into the 21st century.”

‘Rebirth’ Wasn’t As Expensive As Its Predecessors

With a reported production budget of $180 million, which is significantly lower than the $265 million that was spent on Jurassic World Dominion and the $432 million that was spent on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Rebirth opened to mixed reviews. It holds a 52% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Collider’s Aidan Kelley praising Edwards’ direction in his review. You can watch the movie in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.