Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park
06/09/1993 AD released

Jurassic Park premiered at the Uptown Theater, and was released on June 11 in the US. It went on to gross over $914 million worldwide in its original theatrical run, becoming the highest-grossing film ever at the time, surpassing Spielberg's own film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, a record held until the release of Titanic in 1997.

It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its special effects and Spielberg's direction. Following its 20th anniversary re-release in 2013, Jurassic Park became the oldest film in history to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales and the seventeenth overall.

The film won more than twenty awards, including three Academy Awards for its technical achievements in visual effects and sound design. In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Before Crichton's novel was published, four studios put in bids for its film rights. With the backing of Universal Studios, Spielberg acquired the rights for $1.5 million before its publication in 1990; Crichton was hired for an additional $500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen. Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence and made numerous changes to the characters.

Filming took place in California and Hawaii from August to November 1992, and post-production rolled until May 1993, supervised by Spielberg in Poland as he filmed Schindler's List. The dinosaurs were created with groundbreaking computer-generated imagery by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and with life-sized animatronic dinosaurs built by Stan Winston's team.

To showcase the film's sound design, which included a mixture of various animal noises for the dinosaur roars, Spielberg invested in the creation of DTS, a company specializing in digital surround sound formats. The film was backed by an extensive $65 million marketing campaign, which included licensing deals with over 100 companies.

Washington, D.C.

Lattitude: 38.9072° N
Longitude: 77.0369° W
Region: North America

Modern Day United States

Events in 1993 MORE