Since its first installment a decade ago, the Jurassic World franchise has continued to produce successful, big-budget, dino-themed blockbusters. The profitable release of Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) has shown the franchise isn’t slowing down.
So far, the franchise has an unbroken record of success, with each of the six sequels to the original Jurassic Park ranging from moderately to highly lucrative. Jurassic World (2015) earned $1.67 billion worldwide, followed by Fallen Kingdom (2018) with $1.31 billion and Dominion (2022) with $1 billion.
Even the earlier Jurassic Park sequels performed solidly, with The Lost World (1997) bringing in $618 million and Jurassic Park III (2001), earning $368 million.
All seven films have been box office hits, yet only two—Jurassic Park (1993) and Jurassic World (2015)—hold a “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, at 91% and 71%, respectively.
The remaining five entries have received mixed-to-poor reviews, ranging from The Lost World’s 53% to Dominion’s 29% and showing a clear gap in moviegoer interest and critical respect. The newest entry, Rebirth, lands on the higher end of things at 50%.
Why Might This Be?
To put it simply, people continue to see these movies because audiences like exciting movies about dinosaurs.
In many ways, the brand identity of these films is more tied to the broadly popular idea of dinosaurs rather than any specific plot point or character. This allows audiences to forgive awkward creative choices as long as the prehistoric goods are delivered.
Following the first Jurassic Park movie, public interest in dinosaurs skyrocketed. Many even believe the release of the film led to a rise in people joining the field of paleontology, according to an article from NPR.
Besides the dinosaur appeal, the franchise has also developed an international reputation for its stunning visuals. These films’ fast-paced action tends to make them very accessible, helping them obtain popularity in domestic and international markets. Also, the typical focus on action makes it easier for moviegoers to pop in at any time without extensive knowledge of the previous entries.
Why the Critics and Fans Aren’t as Pleased
Many fans and critics feel that every sequel has simply been inferior to the original Jurassic Park. As a critic for Collider observed, “Jurassic has fallen into these same traps over the past thirty years: going bigger, wilder, without ever capturing what made the original so great.”
The franchise’s reliance on nostalgia has also been called out, with many seeing the frequent use of cameos as making the franchise feel like it’s living in its own shadow. A review of Jurassic World Dominion from Screen Anarchy described it as, “basically one big collection of Easter eggs and shout‑outs to the earlier films.”
Outside of general criticism, many of the newer movies have had detractors for certain creative choices, such as the introduction of genetically modified dinosaurs.
This backlash is echoed online, with the most upvoted post on the popular Jurassic Park subreddit titled, “Jurassic movies need to stop using mutant dinosaurs. It’s a dinosaur franchise, not a Godzilla franchise.”
The poster wrote: “Dinosaurs aren’t boring. They are what made Jurassic Park such a hit back in 1993. There is no need to replace them with monsters that never existed. These movies are about bringing creatures that lived millions of years ago to life on the big screen. Replacing them with fictional mutant creatures makes no sense.”
Many fans felt the move from “actual dinosaurs” to genetically modified ones was unnecessary and took away the charm of seeing previously extinct creatures being recreated on screen.
A Recap for Those Wanting To Jump Into ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’
In 2015, the franchise was given a soft reboot—a notable change in direction that continues to acknowledge the continuity of the previous films. The dinosaur-ridden island is now open to the public as a theme park. What’s the kicker? Scientists have genetically engineered new, more dangerous dinosaurs.
Unsurprisingly, the modified dinosaurs have a jailbreak.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) follows a mission to rescue dinosaurs from the island as a volcano erupts, only for the animals to be secretly sold at a black-market auction.
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) picks up with dinosaurs now living freely around the world, as a team races to stop a biotech company threatening the global ecosystem.
In simple terms (without any spoilers), Jurassic World: Rebirth follows a research team in a world now overrun with dinosaurs, who are attempting to save humanity.
Ultimately, while some may see these films as repetitive, the plots do find exciting ways to pit humans against dinosaurs, and audiences show up. While some people think the franchise should go extinct, the money Rebirth is raking in means these dinosaurs probably aren’t going anywhere.
Editorial Note: Portions of this article were reviewed and refined using AI-assisted editing tools to support grammar, clarity, and style. All content has been fact-checked and approved by our editorial team.
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