Universal Pictures' 'Jurassic World' sequel set for June 2018

LOS ANGELES: After taking the summer box office by storm with more than $1.5 billion globally, the "Jurassic World" dinosaurs will be getting a sequel slated for June 22, 2018, Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) Universal Pictures said Thursday.

"Jurassic World," which rebooted Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" dinosaur franchise in June, has become the third highest-grossing film in history, behind only James Cameron's "Titanic" and "Avatar."

The sequel will see the film's leads Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return, along with Spielberg as executive producer and "Jurassic World" director Colin Trevorrow penning the script. An official title for the sequel and the director have yet to be announced.

"Jurassic World," co-produced with Legendary Pictures, exceeded early expectations to achieve the largest opening weekend in movie history with $524.1 million at the global box office.

The film added to an already stellar year for Universal Pictures, which became the fastest studio to hit $2 billion at the box office in a calendar year last month, buoyed by the success of February's "Fifty Shades of Grey," April's "Furious 7" and May's "Pitch Perfect 2."

In its earnings report on Thursday, Comcast said revenue at the film studio rose 93 percent from a year earlier to $2.3 billion, bolstered by "Furious 7" and "Jurassic World."

Upcoming Universal movies this year include M Night Shyamalan's horror "The Visit," drama "Everest," Aaron Sorkin's "Steve Jobs" biopic and Guillermo Del Toro's gothic horror "Crimson Peak."

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