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MOVIES
Paul Dergarabedian

'Jurassic World' crushes the newbies at the box office

Patrick Ryan
USA TODAY
Chris Pratt, left, and Bryce Dallas Howard survey the dino damage in 'Jurassic World,' which topped the box office for a fourth weekend.

There's no wiping out these dinos.

Jurassic World is anything but extinct a month into its run, topping the box office for a fourth straight weekend with $30.9 million and stomping over the openings of Magic Mike XXL and Terminator Genisys, according to tracking firm Rentrak.

The prehistoric blockbuster dropped just 43% over the Fourth of July weekend and raised its totals to $558.2 million in the USA and almost $1.4 billion worldwide. It's the first film since Furious 7 to spend four consecutive weekends at No. 1 and passes The Dark Knight ($534.9 million) as the fourth-highest-grossing movie ever stateside.

"It's not diminishing one bit as time goes on, as far as its staying power," says Rentrak analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It's a testament to how strongly it's resonating with audiences."

Among the newcomers, XXL lacked the magic of its 2012 predecessor, which opened to $39.1 million on its way to $113.7 million total. The front-loaded sequel got off to a No. 1 start Wednesday with $9.3 million, but its three-day weekend haul amounted to just $12 million ($27.1 million total). With a reported budget of $15 million, its fourth-place finish is not disastrous but certainly not the fireworks expected for the heavily promoted male-stripper extravaganza.

Starring Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello and Jada Pinkett Smith, XXL earned an OK 63% positive reviews from critics on aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com, with audiences liking it better (72%).

More troubling was the start of Terminator Genisys, which came in third with just $28.7 million for the weekend. Another attempt to reboot the hit '80s sci-fi franchise after Terminator Salvation fizzled in 2009, this poorly received installment ($44.2 million to date) may do little to fire up two planned sequels, although a higher international take could rectify that.

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his franchise return and newcomer Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as heroine Sarah Connor, the movie received just 27% positive reviews from critics. USA TODAY's Brian Truitt awarded it *½ stars out of four, calling it "a movie (that's) just as ridiculous as the spelling of its subtitle."

After more than three decades, "it's often hard to find the perfect direction to take a franchise like this," says Dergarabedian of the PG-13-rated tentpole, which carried a reported price tag of more than $150 million. "Bringing Arnold back was really smart, and Paramount did an effective job of marketing the film." But ultimately, "no one could have seen Jurassic World doing this kind of business four weeks out. It was a very competitive weekend."

Disney/Pixar's emotional adventure Inside Out continued its third week at No. 2 with $30.1 million. With reviews as glowing as Amy Poehler's animated Joy, Inside Out has drawn $246.2 million since its release June 19, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing Pixar movie to date, according to Box Office Mojo (2010's Toy Story 3 is still the biggest, with $415 million).

Although Jurassic won the weekend, Inside actually walked away with the bigger five-day holiday haul: $45.3 million since Wednesday, compared with Jurassic's $43.8 million.

Rounding out the top five, Seth MacFarlane's Ted 2 scraped up $11 million for the weekend to bring its total to date to $58.3 million. The raunchy teddy bear comedy is far behind its 2012 predecessor, which earned $119.8 million in two weekends.

In limited release, Amy struck a chord with moviegoers, making $222,000 in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Charting the life and death of singer Amy Winehouse, the well-reviewed film netted a per-screen average of $37,000 (one of the best of all time for a documentary).

Final numbers are expected Monday.

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