Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) has crossed the half-a-billion threshold at the global box office, having grossed $529 million since its international release on July 2, per Variety.

The latest sequel in the long-running film series is stomping toward the $1 billion mark, which all but two of its six predecessors (The Lost World and Jurassic Park III) hit.

Mixed image: Scarlett Johansson smiling on the left in 'Jurassic World Rebirth', the 'Rebirth' logo in the center, and the 'Rebirth' T-Rex roaring on the right
Credit: Inside the Magic

But not so fast.

What Audiences and Critics Are Saying About Jurassic World Rebirth

Reviews have ranged from mixed to negative, with audiences and critics lambasting the film for its poor screenplay and two-dimensional characters, although praise has been given to the film’s dinosaur VFX and action sequences.

Starring Scarlett Johansson in the lead role as covert ops expert Zora, the seventh Jurassic movie follows a team of experts sent to a third abandoned InGen island named Ile Saint-Hubert where they must retrieve life-changing DNA from massive dinosaurs. But after the team is shipwrecked by Spinosaurs, they come face to face with horrifying genetic mutations.

Scarlett Johansson screaming in the 'Jurassic World Rebirth' trailer
Credit: Universal Pictures

It Undoes Fallen Kingdom and Dominion

The film’s biggest sin is how it undoes the events of the previous two films, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). The former unleashed dinosaurs into the human world and the latter saw them flourish all over the entire planet.

Rebirth tells us they’re now all dying out as a result of the planet’s ecology no longer supporting their respiratory systems. Those that survive have gathered along the planet’s equatorial belt, where the climate closely resembles the one in which they thrived eons ago.

Jonathan Bailey as Henry Loomis in the 'Jurassic World Rebirth' trailer
Credit: Universal Pictures

Related: Three New ‘Jurassic World’ Sequels in Development as ‘Rebirth’ Roars at the Box Office

Rebirth Lacks Tension and Horror

Another major point of criticism is the lack of tension and horror, despite screenwriter David Koepp (who co-wrote the first two films) and director Gareth Edwards promising fans the film goes back to what made the original 1993 classic by Steven Spielberg so special; combining elements of awe and terror.

Rebirth fails at this, too, giving us a paint-by-numbers thriller with zero tension and thrills and dino kills that are frustratingly neutered.

Those are just a handful of the problems with the film. Simply put, it’s really bad. But that won’t stop Universal Pictures from greenlighting and fast-tracking another sequel. Rebirth‘s global box office rampage almost guarantees another film — it’s only a matter of time before it’s announced. But it’s high time this franchise went as extinct as the dinosaurs themselves.

And many fans couldn’t agree more. Others, however, want Universal to hit reset.

Mixed image: Ian Malcolm at the dinosaur poop in 'Jurassic Park', bottom right, Henry and Zora smiling in 'Jurassic World Rebirth', beneath the logo
Credit: Inside the Magic

Related: New ‘Jurassic Park’ Sequel Likely To Be R-Rated, Features Content “Inappropriate for Children”

Fans Want an R-Rated Jurassic Park Reboot

Did you ever think you’d see the day when fans would call for a Jurassic Park reboot?

While Rebirth certainly has its defenders, many longtime fans are now saying they want an R-rated Jurassic Park film or television series after being disappointed by the latest entry.

The demand for an R-rated entry is nothing new within the Jurassic fandom, as many have been asking for a more novel-accurate adaptation for years.

“Jurassic Park” and “The Lost World” by the late Michael Crichton are very graphic. While their theatrical counterparts certainly lean into the horror with many disturbing kill scenes, they’re still essentially watered-down versions of the two best-sellers. As for the five sequels that followed (Jurassic Park III—Rebirth), they’re seriously lacking in that department.

“Need a rated R Jurassic Park,” one fan wrote on X (Twitter) following the new film’s release:

“What if we remake Jurassic Park but do “Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park” and make it as close to the book as possible and rated R cause that would be AMAZING,” another said.

This sentiment is echoed by many others.

“We, the people, deserve a book accurate Jurassic Park reboot film. Give us that R rated sci fi horror goodness!”

One fan says the new film felt “rushed” and that the franchise needs to “lean a little more into the horror aspect”:

“The pacing also felt rushed throughout the movie. And to be quite honest the story wasnt that good imo. Would be nice to a R rated jurassic park where the lean a little more into the horror aspect of it.”

@DjMittenzz enjoyed Rebirth but still wants Universal Pictures to give fans a “fresh start” instead of churning out more sequels:

“Jurassic Park really needs to be rated R just like the books. It was a solid 6/10 for me….I didn’t want a continuation of the Jurassic Worlds, I just wanted a fresh start.”

@PascalLogic gets a bit more specific, saying that Universal needs to “erase the timeline” and start fresh after the 1993 film:

“Erase the timeline. Start Fresh After Jurassic Park 1 Make it an R rated Horror movie following Jurassic Park 1 to give the Jurassic series a fresh start. Right now the series has people expecting the same sh*t every time. Boring almost at this point.”

“I’m just waiting for the day we get an more novel-accurate, R-rated Jurassic Park,” @dylan_hawken01 wrote. 

Related: ‘Jurassic Park’ Finally Gets R-Rated Treatment With New Short Film

A Jurassic Park Television Series Could Work

A Jurassic Park television series more faithful to Crichton’s books is hardly “the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas” as Dr. Ian Malcolm puts it in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Harry Potter ran for eight films and now it’s being rebooted as a television series with a new continuity, said to be a “more faithful adaptation” of J.K. Rowling’s books.

While Warner Bros. has no plans to continue the Harry Potter films alongside the new series, that doesn’t mean a Jurassic Park television series with a separate timeline couldn’t co-exist with the Jurassic film series. There’s plenty of material in Crichton’s two novels to justify at least two seasons — maybe more if they’re condensed into eight episodes or less.

But, until that happens (if it ever will), fans will just have to make do with even more films.

Jurassic World Rebirth is out in theaters now. Watch the official trailer below:

Jurassic World Rebirth stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Endgame), Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer), Rupert Friend (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Mahershala Ali (The Green Book), Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (Dead Boy Detectives), Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez), Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF), and Ed Skrein (Deadpool).

What did you think of Rebirth? Sound off in the comments!

The post ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Crosses $500M+, but Disappointed Fans Demand a Reboot appeared first on Inside the Magic.

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