MOVIE NEWS – The Jurassic Park series seems utterly untouchable at the box office, no matter how harshly critics react. Except for Spielberg’s 1993 classic, every sequel has been met with lukewarm or negative reviews, yet audiences keep pouring into theaters. The latest Jurassic World proves it: dinosaur mania is alive and well, no matter what the critics say.

Of all Hollywood’s blockbuster franchises, Jurassic Park is almost bizarrely immune to negative press. The 1993 original set a new benchmark, but its sequels have been met with a steady stream of critical shrugs – and still rake in mountains of cash. If anyone wonders why the studio keeps making more, just look at those global box office figures: this is a money-making machine, and far more consistently successful than even the Marvel Cinematic Universe when reviews go sour.

So what makes the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films so critic-proof? You have to go back to Spielberg’s 1993 masterpiece, which transformed dinosaur fantasies into movie magic with special effects that blew minds and reignited every kid’s dino obsession. The original raked in $1.058 billion worldwide and still holds a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, but even Spielberg couldn’t keep the sequels from sliding in quality. None have matched that critical acclaim, but as the table below shows, they’re still massive hits at the box office:

Why Dinosaurs Still Fill Theater Seats

Jurassic World Rebirth is the latest evidence: it’s smashing records, despite a 51% Rotten Tomatoes score. Its opening day pulled in over $30 million, and the global box office has sailed past $500 million. Casual moviegoers make it clear – nobody’s coming for clever plots or deep character arcs. They want dinosaurs: old favorites and new species, tearing up the screen in wild set pieces and popcorn mayhem.

The plot can be dumb as a post, the human drama cardboard thin – audiences just want to see a T. rex go berserk or a pack of raptors hunt their prey. These days, the humans barely matter. The crowd isn’t coming for subtlety; they want spectacle, and the Jurassic films keep delivering. Sure, a smart script would be nice, but most fans have accepted that nothing will ever top the original. If a sequel stumbles onto greatness, that’s a bonus. The main thing is fun – even the slowest entries (looking at you, The Lost World and Dominion) have at least a few scenes worth cheering for. It’s cinematic junk food, and nobody’s complaining.

Dinosaurs have always fired up the imagination. Whether you’re a grown-up who never got over that childhood dino obsession or a kid just discovering the magic, these movies tap into something primal. The effects brought dinosaurs to life like nothing before, and the fascination hasn’t faded with time.

That’s the key: from the beginning, Spielberg’s vision made these creatures real for viewers of all ages – and every new entry keeps that spark alive.

No Homework Required: Just Enjoy the Show

Another thing that sets Jurassic apart: you don’t need a PhD in franchise lore to have a blast. Marvel and DC fans know the pain of keeping up, but with Jurassic, you can jump in anywhere and still have fun. There are recurring characters, but you don’t need to know their entire backstories – every movie is basically a self-contained thrill ride, with the dinosaurs always the true stars.

Missed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom? No problem, your friends can fill you in on the basics before you watch Dominion. Didn’t bother with The Lost World? You’ll be just fine starting with Jurassic Park III. That’s the genius: every movie is its own adventure, and it’s always the dinosaurs that keep people coming back.

But at the heart of it all, it’s the lingering awe of Spielberg’s original that keeps the whole franchise bulletproof. Even the weakest sequels have a moment or two that conjure up that old wonder, and somewhere in the back of every fan’s mind is the hope that maybe, just maybe, a new one will come close to matching that first magic. But if not, who cares? These movies are thrill rides, pure and simple – they give us exactly what we crave. Not every blockbuster needs to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes, “fun” is more than enough. Jurassic World Rebirth is now in theaters.

Source: MovieWeb