'Jurassic World' Earns $1.24 Billion Worldwide, Bolstered By Strong China Box Office Performance

Summer blockbuster "Jurassic World" just had another monstrous weekend at the box office. For the third straight week, the reboot of the '90s classic took the top spot this weekend, earning $54.2 million to bring the movie’s total earnings to $1.24 billion in just three weeks.

The Hollywood Reporter said "Jurassic World," directed by Colin Trevorrow, hit the $1 billion mark at the global box office last Monday, just two weeks after its release, the fastest any movie has hit the mark. The record-breaking dinosaur flick, starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, has captivated audiences around the world, with earnings gaining momentum following overseas release -- and it doesn’t seem to be slowing.

The franchise's revival was also a big hit in the United Kingdom, earning $30.4 million over its opening weekend, giving the region its best weekend since November 2012.

Much of the revenue is coming from China where box office earnings hit a cumulative $161.7 million just two weeks after the movie's release. According to a separate report by the Hollywood Reporter, citing data from Entgroup, a Chinese entertainment research and insights website, "Jurassic World" was screened 339,013 times with 10.88 million admissions in China by the second week.

The Universal Pictures-produced movie made a conscious effort to market to China’s lucrative movie market. The original "Jurassic Park" movie and its sequels never were introduced formally to China or released in Chinese theaters. To boost excitement for the movie, Trevorrow, Pratt and Howard traveled to China as part of their international media tour. China has increasingly become a mainstay on the Hollywood press tour, especially when it comes to big action flicks. Recently, movies like "Furious 7," "Transformers: Age of Extinction" and the Pratt-led "Guardians of the Galaxy" were all certified box office hits in China.

The Chinese particularly like American action movies, and the revenues prove it. Ahead of the "Jurassic World" release, Chinese box office pundits told Forbes they expected the movie to earn 2 billion yuan, roughly $322 million, from the Chinese market. Just three weeks later, the high expectations seem attainable. If successful, "Jurassic World" would become China’s second-highest grossing film ever, after Furious 7.