Dinosaurs continue to be of great interest to people around the world. Of course, the presence of unfathomably large reptiles roaming the world millions of years before the first humans is fascinating, and technology has really helped to capture the imagination via entertainment products. While they don’t feature the impressive meganeura, the massive dragonflies of the Permian era, the Jurassic Park movies played a huge part in this craze.
Released on June 11, 1993, Jurassic Park will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year. When released, the $63 million budget of the Steven Spielberg classic was flipped into a massive $1 billion worldwide. Now, with two Jurassic Park sequels and a reboot Jurassic World trilogy, the franchise has eclipsed $6 billion. With so much coming in at the box office, let alone through the massive merchandising lines, it makes sense that Jurassic Park’s going big to celebrate its 30th birthday.
Colossal impact of Jurassic Park on cinema
It’s easy to point to Jurassic Park as being influential in Hollywood because it eclipsed the billion mark, and yet, its legacy goes far beyond the box office take. While its in-movie science doesn’t exactly reach the levels of spacecraft technology, at the time, the CGI marked a new level entirely. It was the first time that computer-generated entities were able to share the screen with human actors. Of course, this paved the way for all of the massively CGI-driven, hundred-million flicks of today, such as modern Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Even though Jurassic Park set a new record as the highest-grossing movie ever made – a mark that took four years to surpass with the launch of Titanic – its popularity has only grown since. This is despite The Lost World and Jurassic World III seemingly being of lower quality and taking less at the box office – not to mention the Jurassic World trilogy. As much as the new star of the series, Chris Pratt, is incredibly charismatic – but doesn’t sing in this one – none of the later installments have met the same standards of storytelling as the original movie.
Still, what’s remained prominent throughout has been the power of the brand. Jurassic Park was the first big-budget hit movie that put realistic dinosaurs front and center. This set the standard in the cinema, the biggest stage in entertainment, and thus, as the big brand of dinosaurs, Universal Studios could sell all Jurassic Park merchandise, from games to t-shirts, as the ultimate premium products. This only enhanced the appeal.
Celebrating 30 years of bringing dinosaurs to life
Being a pop culture icon and master of merchandising and branding, Jurassic Park is, inevitably, going big on its 30th-anniversary celebrations. One of the more low-key, but certainly appealing, releases is the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray collector’s box set. Complete with steelbook cases, the original film in 4K, a 44-page info book, four art cards, a film cell replica, and a certificate of authenticity, it’s bound to get Blu-ray collectors buzzing for its June 26 release.
Beyond the movie itself, there’ll be plenty of Jurassic Park products to celebrate. With the 30th anniversary being heavily advertised, the online slots series featuring the dinosaurs will only become more popular. Jurassic Park Gold and Jurassic Park Online Slot are the main attractions due to the love of the original movie. However, the new Jurassic World: Raptor Riches is certainly winning over fans – even those who don’t favor the reboot flicks.
As for even more far-flung branded products, you’re bound to spot Jurassic Park characters and creatures popping up all over the place. Iron Studios has created a premium diorama for the final scene in the movie, featuring the characters, two velociraptors, and the tyrannosaurus-rex for $899. At 1/20 scale and weighing in at 13.6 lbs, it’s certainly a product made for the super fans with a fair bit of shelf space to fill. Zavvi is also selling some new merchandise. The Jurassic Park Premium Box: Genetics Division box has four high-quality, 24k gold-plated coins.
For those who want a live experience, you can get some roaring action at the theater. The Jurassic World Live Tour, with its true-to-the-film-sized dinosaurs, continues to stage weekly shows across the US and Canada. On either side of Jurassic Park’s birthday, the tour will be in California. From July 7 to 9 it will be in San Jose, and from July 14 to 16, the show will arrive at the Honda Center in Anaheim. As far as the dates run, the final show will take place in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, at the Mohegan Sun Arena on November 24-26.
Jurassic Park has gone from a classic film to a legendary franchise, and this year, it’s deservedly making a huge fuss about the original movie’s big birthday.
