Welcome back to Jurassic World.
Universal Pictures debuted the new trailer for “Jurassic World Dominion” — one of the most highly anticipated films of 2022 — on Thursday.
The first look featured everything you would expect from a “Jurassic World” movie: dinosaurs running wild, Chris Pratt on a motorcycle chasing down those dinosaurs plus several call backs to previous films, including the original’s cast of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.
That’s all good news for Universal and theaters because the Jurassic Park franchise has been big business for both for nearly 30 years.
The series — which launched with Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” — has hauled in more than $5 billion worldwide since its 1993 debut, according to Comscore (SCOR). “Dominion,” which rebooted the franchise in 2015, will be the sixth installment overall.
For theaters, “Dominion” is one of the films that could represent a return to box office normalcy after two years of on-again-off-again starts at the cineplex because of the pandemic. It was delayed a year due to the global health crisis.
Even with streaming emerging as a dominant format for watching big movies, “Dominion” — which opens exclusively in theaters June 10 — could still be one of the biggest windfalls of 2022 for theaters. After all, watching a T-Rex roar on an enormous screen is a much different experience than watching it on a TV at home.
There’s also the nostalgia of seeing the legacy cast from the original film together again on the big screen. That should likely bring out old fans of the series who may be itching to see favorite characters Dr. Alan Grant (Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern) and Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) try not to get eaten.
As for Universal, “Dominion” is a big part of a potentially big year.
The studio has a diverse lineup of films that could lead to a box office bonanza. That includes “Nope,” Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, the animated family feature “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and the conclusion of the revamped Halloween franchise, “Halloween Ends.”
