The world evidently still loves dinosaurs because Jurassic World is roaring and chomping its way to box-office records. The fourth instalment to the Jurassic Park franchise has already delivered strong numbers during its first week, to the point it snagged over USD208 million in the first three days of release.
This not only served as a momentous occasion for Universal Pictures and Colin Trevorrow’s film but it also bested a milestone record set by Marvel’s The Avengers in 2012 for the biggest opening weekend ever. In a classy move, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige sent out a cool poster congratulating Universal Pictures, producers Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, Trevorrow and star Chris Pratt for their success with Jurassic World in the form of cool piece of art.
Produced by Marvel conceptual artist, Andy Park, the artwork depicted Pratt riding a T-Rex who just so happened to be holding Thor’s hammer while the rest of the Avengers look on. The artwork has made its way around the internet with many fans tipping their hats off with Feige’s gesture but it should be noted that the move is actually a long-standing tradition in Hollywood.
In 1998, George Lucas himself took out a full page ad in Variety to congratulate James Cameron for his success with Titanic. Lucas’ ad showed several Star Wars characters going down with the ship with a simple message “Jim, Congratulations. George” to mark the occasion when Titanic surpassed Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.
But Lucas was also the recipient of a congratulatory message from his old friend Steven Spielberg when Star Wars bested JAWS’ box-office record back in 1977. The artwork which also ran in Variety showed R2D2 reeling in a monster Great White Shark with the aid of a fishing pole.
As Jurassic World continues to munch its way to box-office gold, we can’t help but wonder if we’ll see more cool gestures from filmmakers as big films are set to be released in the next 12 months. Many expect Star Wars: The Force Awakens to make a big splash once it hits cinemas in December and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in summer 2016.
Will we see a T-Rex bowing before the greatness of Han, Luke and Leia? Or Storm Troopers conceding defeat to Batman? Only time will tell as we gear up for an exciting 12 months at the movies.
