“Jurassic World,” the fourth in a series of movies that are together among the most popular of all time, posted a domestic box office number of $204 million for the weekend, second only to the opening weekend of “The Avengers,” which posted a number of $207 million. This gives “Jurassic World” a chance to reach the record set by “Avatar,” the highest grossing film ever. That record stands at $760 million, which is $1.6 billion based on inflation adjusted dollars, according to Box Office Mojo. To top “Avatar,” “Jurassic World” has to show it has legs.

One of the keys to the success of “Avatar” is the strength it exhibited after its first week. Most films fall off enough so that they cannot hold the top spot for more than a week or two. After falling into third place on the second weekend after its release, “Avatar” moved back to first place in box office total for the next five weeks, until it fell into second place. The opening of “Jurassic World” gives it at least a chance to do that. It would need to stay above $200 million for the second weekend, $150 million for the next two weekends after that and $100 million the two weeks after that. When those weekends conclude, it would need a very long “tail” of success for another two to three months. The numbers would seem impossible to achieve, if “Avatar” had not done so first.

One advantage “Jurassic World” has is that it is part of a popular series. One of the tactics Hollywood has discovered and used for decades is that if a film is successful, it can carry movie after movie as it builds a franchise. The Batman franchise is made up of eight films, Die Hard of five, Fast and Furious of seven and Harry Potter of eight, as well.

If Hollywood’s formula works one more time, and works with record success, “Jurassic World” has a shot, albeit a long one, to catch “Avatar.”

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