Universal opened the gates to its new genetically modified dinosaur franchise title Jurassic World last night at 7 PM and a slew of people stampeded in. Jurassic World grossed $18.5M at 3,229 theaters which in terms of Thursday night previews ranks 13th, tying with The Dark Knight pre-shows on July 18 2008. 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the champ with $43.5M from midnight shows. Earlier this year, Uni’s Furious 7 revved up $15.8M before posting a $147.2M bow while Disney’s Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron grossed $27.6M at its Thursday preview before hammering a FSS of $191.3M.

With gargantuan tracking figures of  96% total awareness and 36% unaided awareness, some insiders feel that Jurassic World is bound for a potential June record. The titleholder is Warner Bros.’ 2013 Superman pic Man of Steel at $116.6M, which by the way is one of the industry’s comps for