Jurassic World came out Thursday night. Besides sparking conversations about your coworker’s favorite dinosaur, the movie is also the catalyst for a very important investigation into what it would cost to actually build a real version of Jurassic Park.

This estimate from Fandango puts the cost at $23.4324 billion.

Of course, you’d have to take into account the fact that you can’t ever trust a contractor’s initial estimate. “Oh, you wanted stainless steel dinosaur watering troughs? Okay, that’ll jack up prices, but we can do it.’’

This new information raises a very important question. Why on earth are we even considering hosting the 2024 Olympics here in Boston when we could build Jurassic Park for less than half of what it would cost to watch speed-walking and badminton for a few weeks?


According to estimates, the Sochi Olympics cost somewhere around $51 billion. And we all remember how smoothly those went. Nothing like getting to your hotel room to find that you can’t wash your face with water from the faucet because it’s “too dangerous.’’

Citizens of Boston aren’t exactly clamoring for a chance to host the games in 2024. Only 39 percent of residents across Massachusetts think it’s a good idea. Opponents argue that the Olympics won’t boost the local economy, that taxpayers would be left footing the bill, and that the opportunity costs wouldn’t be worth it.

Building a real Jurassic Park is right in all the ways hosting the Olympics would be wrong. It would undoubtedly boost the local economy—if you think the aquarium is a draw, imagine what dinosaurs would do for tourism.

Also, taxpayers wouldn’t be on the hook for this one. It’s likely that a local university would foot the bill, given all the research and development involved in bringing an extinct species back from the dead. As for opportunity costs, local government wouldn’t get put on the backburner because the park would be a private endeavor.

Other than the fact that the science is basically impossible and we’d all definitely get eaten alive, Jurassic 2024 has a nice ring to it.


2015 summer movie blockbusters: