Sunday, June 21, 2015

Box Office Records: "Jurassic Park" Theme Returns to Top of Billboard Charts After 22 Years

Scene from Jurassic Park
There is a good chance that you have seen director Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World. With the film breaking box office records and becoming the biggest hit of the summer, it seems like audiences are ready to hang out with dinosaurs again. While the film is tearing up the movie charts, there's a certain other chart that the Michael Crichton franchise has just climbed back on top of. After a 22 year absence, the main theme from Jurassic Park is officially at the top of the charts once again.

For many, the idea of Steven Spielberg teaming with John Williams simply makes sense. Of course, this isn't just bias. Most of their compositions together remain astounding highs for the composer. Among what many consider to be the best is his work for Jurassic Park. There's a chance that upon hearing it for the first time, you'll never forget it. It is a majestic piece of music that reminds you why scores are integral to the best of films. So while Jurassic Park unfortunately never got a Best Original Score nomination (though the Spielberg-Williams work on Schindler's List won that same year), it has remained in the zeitgeist in ways that are currently evident.

Listen below:


While it is indicative of Jurassic World that its score hasn't received any acclaim, despite being from the great Michael Giacchino, it is also just reflective of what great music sounds like. With a 205% increase and 3,000 copies sold (it has sold 189,000 to date), the John Williams score is currently in the top spot on Billboard's classical digital songs. Comparatively, Giacchino's work is in sixth place on the soundtracks chart with 4,000 copies sold. Also on the classical digital songs line-up is a runner-up from The Piano Guys, who also cover the main theme. Though it remains unlikely that we'll likely care about either of these as much in 22 years as we do now for Williams' seminal work.

So while this is a triumph of great music, it should also serve as a reminder of why Williams is a master of sorts. His influence still continues to impact pop culture. It is likely that with Star Wars: Episode VII this December, we'll be seeing many familiar favorites top those charts as well. For now, let's get lost in the nostalgia and enjoy being chased by dinosaurs. As for Giacchino, don't worry about him. He has done a phenomenal job on the score for Inside Out, which will likely be featured at this year's Academy Awards anyways. He'll be just fine.

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