Jurassic World Dominion devoured $18 million in Thursday evening previews at the North American box office as it stomped into theaters across the U.S. and Canada.

Several weeks ago, Top Gun: Maverick started off with $19 million in previews on its way to a $160 million opening over the long Memorial Day weekend, including $126.7 million for the three days.

Tracking shows Dominion opening to $125 million domestically, which would be notably behind 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($148 million) and 2015’s Jurassic World ($208.8 million). Bullish pundits believe that number is far too conservative, however, considering that Thursday’s $18 million in previews paced ahead of Fallen Kingdom ($15.3 million).

But it remains to be seen if poor reviews hurt turnout. The final installment in the Jurassic World trilogy presently has a 34 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest of any title in the iconic dino series.

One advantage is that Dominion will take away Imax and premium large format screens from Top Gun: Maverick. Another advantage: Actors Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill and BD Wong are reuniting for the first time since starring in director Steven Spielberg’s first Jurassic Park (1993).

Director and Jurassic World architect Colin Trevorrow, after sitting out Fallen Kingdom, returns to helm Jurassic World Dominion, which is the final title in the trilogy that has been anchored by actors Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

This time out, the dinosaurs live — and hunt — alongside humans all over the world. Jurassic World Dominion boasts never-seen dinosaurs and new visual effects.

The movie will have no trouble taking the top spot on the chart away from Top Gun: Maverick, which is heading into its third weekend.

The Top Gun sequel has been a breakaway hit, and could earn $45 million or more this weekend. The film has already taken in more than $55 million internationally across 15 markets, with strong openings in South Korea and across Latin America, including Mexico and Brazil.

Top Gun: Maverick opens in a raft of other markets this weekend, including in China, where it is one of the few Hollywood tentpoles to get a release in the pandemic era (Top Gun 2 is not playing in the Middle Kingdom.)