Jurassic World sets new box office record with monstrous opening weekend

The fearsome Jurassic Park dinosaurs have done it again, gobbling up the competition to score the biggest worldwide box office opening weekend ever with the latest franchise.

Action-packed Jurassic World, featuring a new and particularly lethal hybrid dino, raked in a whopping US$511 million globally in its debut at cinemas, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

That was the largest weekend take ever, eclipsing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (US$483 million in 2011), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The unprecedented haul for Jurassic World - which has had largely positive, if not sparkling reviews - was boosted by the US$100 million earned in China alone and the blockbuster topped the box office in 66 countries. In North America, Jurassic World made US$204.6 million, just short of the record for an opening weekend in the region.

That record is held by Marvel's The Avengers at US$207.4 million in 2012. "This is absolutely a four-quadrant movie and is working on so many levels.

The release date was awesome and everybody stayed off of our date," The Hollywood Reporter quoted Universal domestic distribution chief Nick Carpou as saying.