'Jurassic World' bites off biggest global debut of all time

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dinosaurs are anything but extinct at the box office.

"Jurassic World," the fourth film in the series, became the highest global opener of all time with a staggering $511.8 million in its first days in theaters.

In addition to setting a record for 2015, "Jurassic World" is now the second-highest domestic opening of all time, right behind "Marvel's The Avengers" which took in $207.4 million in 2012.

Universal Pictures and Legendary co-financed the $150 million, PG-13 rated film.

Audiences in every quadrant turned out to see the film in theaters.

According to exit polls, 39 percent were under the age of 25, signifying the massive interest of both a new generation and the continued enthusiasm of those who saw "Jurassic Park" in 1993.

[...] audiences shelled out the extra money to see the film in the biggest format possible.

The film has resonated with audiences around the world, said Nick Carpou, Universal's president of domestic distribution.

Directed by Colin Trevorrow and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, "Jurassic World" is the third in a series of blockbusters for star Chris Pratt, who also starred in the 2014 box office hits "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "The Lego Movie."

Jurassic World" is just the latest hit for Universal in 2015, following "Fifty Shades of Grey" and "Furious 7.

No studio even tried to compete with the unbeatable dinosaurs this weekend, and thus holdovers populated the rest of the top five.

The dino-sized debut of "Jurassic World" is of utmost importance to the industry, too, which has seen three consecutive down weekends in what was supposed to be a record-setting summer.

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.