The summer box office got the shot in the arm that it needed so desperately this weekend, with 20th Century Studios’Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesdelivering a solid domestic debut. The film’s opening exceeded expectations and appears to have settled in the same range as some of the series' most recent releases. The fourth installment ofthe franchise’s reboot series,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesgrossed an estimated $56 million in its first three days of release, including $6 million from Thursday previews. The movie was projected to generate around $50 million in its opening weekend.
This puts the science-fiction sequel marginally ahead of the $54 million thatRise of the Planet of the Apesdebuted with on its way to a $176 million lifetime domestic haul in 2011 and on par with the $56 million that 2017’sWar for the Planet of the Apesopened to before finishing with $146 million domestically.Dawn of the Planet of the Apesretains its crown as the franchise’s biggest opener — it made $72 million in its domestic debut — and also its highest-grossing installment, with over $200 million domestically and $700 million worldwide.
WhileRisewas directed byRupert Wyatt,DawnandWarwere directed byMatt Reeves. Each of the reboot movies earned stellar reviews, as hasKingdom of the Planet of the Apes, directed byWes Ball. Bestknown for hisMaze Runnertrilogy of movies, Ball has experience in visual effects and science-fiction, and he appears to have put his skills to good use as he makes a steady climb up the Hollywood ladder.Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesholdsan 80% approval ratingon the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, although itsaudience reception is noticeably mutedwith a B CinemaScore. It’s too early to tell if this will weigh heavily on the film’s future, but last week’s under-performer,The Fall Guy, is certainly benefiting from positive audience reception.
‘The Fall Guy’ Makes a Second Weekend Comeback
The action-comedy reported a rather respectable hold in its second weekend, grossing an estimated $14 million, but it still has a lot of catching up to do. StarringRyan GoslingandEmily Blunt,The Fall Guyhad a disappointing debut last week,grossing $27 milliondespite weeks of enthusiastic build-up, an eye-catching marketing campaign, andpositive reviews. Produced on a reported budget between $130 million and $150 million,The Fall Guyis touching the $50 million mark domestically as we speak, while also passing the $100 million mark globally. The third position was claimed by Amazon MGM’sChallengers, which lost a hefty 900 theaters but added almost $5 million in its third weekend of release, taking its running domestic total to just under $40 million.
The fourth and fifth spots went to Sony’s horror titleTarotand Warner Bros.’ blockbusterGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire. WhileTarotfolded after a disappointing opening last weekend, grossing just $3.4 million,Godzilla x Konghasnow passed the $190 million mark domesticallyafter adding just over $2.5 million in its seventh weekend of release. The latest installment in the MonsterVerse franchise is on track to overtakeGodzilla’s $200 million lifetime domestic haul to become the series’ biggest film.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he’s been taught about the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
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