Los Angeles: In an age when superheroes rule the big screen, it takes a dinosaur to re-write the box office balance sheet.

Jurassic World, the film relaunch of Universal's Jurassic Park franchise, has exploded at the international box office, drawing in the dollars at a rate unprecedented in film history.

In the United States, the film has taken US$204.6 million on its opening weekend. The result pushes it ahead of the monstrous launch earlier this year of The Avengers: The Age of Ultron and into position as the second strongest opening ever.