‘Jurassic World’ Becomes the Fastest Film to Cross $1 Billion Globally!

“Jurassic World” is poised to cross $1 billion at the global box office more quickly than any film before it.

The dinosaur blockbuster should eclipse that mark on Monday after 13 days in theaters, trumping the record set earlier this year by “Furious 7,” which took 17 days to pass that barrier. Currently, the Universal release’s worldwide total sits at $981.3 million, after topping foreign charts this weekend with a $160.5 million haul from 66 territories.

The film has shattered expectations. Going into the summer, analysts expected that the picture would be overshadowed by “Minions” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Now, it has a chance of being the highest-grossing release of the year, potentially giving “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” a run for its money when it debuts this December.“It’s destroying box office records,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “It will be interesting to see how well it continues to perform. Can ‘Star Wars’ even compete with this film?”

The picture isn’t just a domestic smash. “Jurassic World” has done massive business in China, where it has earned $167.1 million, more than double the amount it has racked up anywhere else save for the United States.

Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out” also put up big numbers at the foreign box office, though its international rollout is more staggered than that of many summer blockbusters. The critically adored family film earned a robust $41 million from 41 territories, the biggest of which were Mexico ($8.8 million), Russia ($7.7 million) and France ($5.2 million). The Russian debut ranks as Disney’s biggest animated opening in the country, while Mexico represented the best ever kickoff for an animated film that isn’t a sequel. The film still has much of Europe left to open and won’t land in China until July 30.

Foreign audiences got an early look at “Minions,” the “Despicable Me” spinoff that is expected to be one of the summer’s biggest hits. The Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment release bowed in four international territories this week, a quartet that includes Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, where it generated a sizable $12.3 million in receipts.

Among milestones, Warner Bros. and New Line’s “San Andreas” crossed $400 million at the global box office, pushing the $110 million movie squarely in profitable terrain. The disaster film added $18.8 million to its $414.2 million bounty.

The rest of the top five was rounded out by “SPL II: A Time for Consequences,” the sequel to the hit 2005 Hong Kong martial arts film “SPL: Sha Po Lang,” which earned a sizable $29 million.

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‘San Andreas’ Shakes Up the Box Office!

The earthquake disaster movie easily took the top spot at the box office, grossing an estimated $53.2 million and surpassing expectations that had predicted an opening in the $40-million range. Dwayne Johnson stars as a rescue pilot who springs into action when the San Andreas fault line ruptures and sets off cataclysmic natural disasters across the country.

The movie’s opening gives Mr. Johnson, who first came to fame as professional wrestler “The Rock,” his best debut as a solo star. It is his second hit of the summer after “Furious 7.”

The performance of “San Andreas” shows he is a “four-quadrant, bigger-than-life movie star,” said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at the Time Warner Inc.-owned studio.

Warner Bros.’s New Line label joined with Village Roadshow Pictures on the movie, which cost about $110 million to make.

Given the movie’s graphic destruction of Los Angeles and San Francisco, some industry observers wondered if “San Andreas” would hit too close to home for California audiences who live in fear of “the big one.” But Mr. Fellman said those “naysayers” were proven wrong: 19 of the movie’s top 20 grossing theaters were on the West Coast.

International audiences have been particularly drawn to disaster movies in the past. Recent apocalyptic epics like “2012” and “Battle: Los Angeles” overperformed in overseas markets. “San Andreas” appears to be following suit, grossing $60 million overseas this weekend. So far, it has opened in 60 markets that typically account for about half the international box office.

The weekend’s other new wide release, “Aloha,” starring Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone, barely got a chance to say hello. The Cameron Crowe movie from Sony Corp.’s Sony Pictures Entertainment opened in sixth place with a weak $10 million. Mr. Cooper stars as a defense contractor working on a weapons satellite program who falls for an Air Force pilot played by Ms. Stone.

“Aloha” fell behind a quartet of holdovers—“Pitch Perfect 2,” “Tomorrowland,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Of those four, “Tomorrowland” appears to be falling off the map fastest—the George Clooney fantasy from Walt Disney Co. fell 58% in its second week. “Aloha” has been hit with bad buzz since last year, when leaked emails from Sony executives showed some of the studio’s top brass criticizing the movie.

Neither “San Andreas” nor “Aloha” got much love from critics; the latter was hit with particularly scathing reviews. Audiences, however, gave “San Andreas” a strong “A-” grade, according to the market research firm CinemaScore. “Aloha” received a “B-.”

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