20th Century Studios’ “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” not only came in at #1 at the box office its opening weekend, but it also exceeded industry expectations.
The Details
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” took in $58.5 million domestically, which is the third highest debut for an “Apes” movie, behind “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” ($72.6M) and Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes” ($68.5M).
The film did huge business in Imax and other premium formats, which collectively accounted for 41 percent of the opening gross.
The latest installment of the franchise also took in $72.7 million overseas for a global start of $131.2 million. The Wes Ball-directed film cost a reported $160 million to make, which means it will definitely make its money back
Disney really put a marketing push behind this movie, from the usual television, print, and online advertising and videos, to in-person events featuring Apes on Horseback, which were seen in Venice Beach, the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, New York’s Liberty Park, and during the LA premiere.
Did you get to see “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” this weekend? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments.
The Force Is Still With Us
Also worth noting with this weekend’s box office is that the Lucasfilm re-release of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” is still hanging in at #9 on the box office chart according to Box Office Mojo with $1.5 million for a two-week total of $12,074,869.
Up Next
Next to be released by Disney is the Daisy Ridley-starring biopic “Young Woman and the Sea,” on May 31st. I don’t expect big box office with this one.
But after that, we have Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” on June 14th, and that should do well among family audiences, and fans of the original. Competition-wise, it doesn’t have any from that weekend, but it is possible Warner Bros’ “Furiosa” could still be pulling in viewers from its May 24th release, or the Columbia Pictures’ sequel “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” could still do well the week after its release on June 7th.