To paraphrase noted mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm, “Franchises, uh, find a way.” And if you happen to be the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise, now on its third retooling, then that way is, apparently, absolutely colossal box office success. Yes, three years on from 2022’s billion-dollar grossing all-star adventure Jurassic World Dominion, Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World Rebirth has just enjoyed a dyno-mite opening weekend at the box office, stomping its way to a year-best — and franchise second-best — $318 million worldwide.

With Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World Dominion having brought the initial World trilogy to an end by uniting the franchise’s past and present on screen, Rebirth — helmed by a series newcomer in Edwards but written by OG Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp — all but wipes the slate clean, introducing an all-new set of heroes led by Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey and sending them off on an all-new mission. Despite having followed in its predecessor’s footsteps with mixed reviews though, Edwards’ movie — which plays the franchise hits while delivering fresh dinos and dino fodder — has clearly landed with fans, outpacing box office analysts’ most optimistic projections by over $50 million and making Scarlett Johansson the highest grossing lead actor in cinema history in the process. The star, whose MCU movies alone have raked in over $10 billion at the box office, has now officially surpassed Samuel L. Jackson’s record, with The Numbers reporting that ScarJo’s leading role running total now stands at a breathtaking $14.6 billion and counting.

And the good news for bricks-and-mortar cinema doesn’t stop with Jurassic World Rebirth‘s killer takings, either. Joseph Kosinski’s F1: The Movie‘s latest multiplex lap has brought the Apple Original movie’s total takings worldwide to $293.6 million, a best for its predominantly streaming best producer; DreamWorks’ live-action How To Train Your Dragon has now passed the $500 million milestone, making Dean DeBlois’ remake the franchise’s biggest hit yet; and over at Disney, the House of Mouse’s Lilo & Stitch is on track to become 2025’s first billion-dollar movie, which — when coupled with the recent announcement of Lilo & Stitch 2 — tells you all you need to know about how much love is still out there for Experiment 626.

With DC Studios’ Superman set to take flight in cinemas next week, and Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps following less than a fortnight later, the summer box office is heating up very nicely indeed. And, for now at least, Jurassic fans can sleep safe in the knowledge that dinosaurs rule the Earth once again.