JURASSIC World has taken a dinosaur-sized bite out of the box office to become the third highest grossing film of all time.

Colin Trevorrow's blockbuster is now only behind Titanic and Avatar, both directed by James Cameron, in the record books after raking in $1.52billion worldwide.

But Jurassic World's success probably tells us more about us as an audience than it does about our love of rampaging dinosaurs on the big screen.

Avatar broke all box office records just six years ago and Jurassic World nudged 2012's The Avengers out of the top three.

So it seems that filmmakers have become more savvy in knowing – and taking advantage of – what will become a hit in the last few years.

In that sense, the more you think about it, the more you realise that Jurassic World had all the things going for it that would have studio executives rubbing their hands with glee.

A built-in audience enthusiastic to see the franchise return to form and a new generation of viewers eager to experience this updated spectacle-filled version of Jurassic Park for themselves.

The film also starred Chris Pratt, a hugely popular leading man at the top of his game after the success of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Then you have to consider how hungry cinema audiences have become for sequels, especially related to series that have previously been off the screen for many years or even decades.

Jurassic World had all those things going for it without resting on its laurels. The film's story was largely praised by critics.

It makes you wonder what sort of dent the new Star Wars will make on box office records.

The downside, of course, is that Hollywood is becoming more cynical and taking less chances.

Star Wars creator George Lucas once predicted that major films would become like events that play everywhere in the world.

They make money because they stick to the formula of a leading man saving the day in a special effects heavy environment. Sound familiar?

It is a far cry from the filmmaking culture in the 1970s when directors dominated their studios rather than vice versa.

The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, Annie Hall, Chinatown – these acclaimed films may have been made in the same decade that Lucas arguably introduced the first blockbuster with Star Wars in 1977.

But would they have survived in their current, idiosyncratic and celebrated form if they were released today with all the 21st century studio pressure to conform?

In a world of sequels and relentless comic book movie adaptations you have to wonder.