‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Reigns Weekend Box Office with $56.5M Debut

In the glitz and glamour of the cinematic world, the highly anticipated “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” clinched the crown at the weekend box office. Mingling the thrill of a franchise reboot with state-of-the-art visuals, the film, a venture by joint forces of 20th Century Studios and Disney, scooped up an impressive $56.5 million in North American markets during its inaugural weekend.

Impressively, this robust opening watching only the $81.5 million debut of “Dune: Part Two” in early March and the $58.3 million North American opening of “Kung Fu Panda 4” eclipse it. Consequently, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” held its position as the third premier box-office opening of the year.

The film’s presence was felt even more substantially in the global markets, boasting revenues of $129 million. This influx was a pleasant surprise for theatrical ventures in the wake of a lukewarm response to Ryan Gosling’s “The Fall Guy,” which prompted concerns for a drop in cinema attendance for the summer of 2024 following the spellbound success of “Barbenheimer” in 2023.

When the box office results rolled in, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” had outscored the remaining top 10 films combined. Meanwhile, “The Fall Guy” slipped into second place, pulling in a respectable $13.7 million over the weekend, contributing to a two-week total of $49.7 million.

Zendaya’s “Challengers” came in at third place with a modest weekend haul of $4.7 million and a three-week total earning of $38 million for Amazon MGM studios.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” directed by Wes Ball, well known for his work on the “Maze Runner” series, witnessed the second-best opening in the franchise’s history—falling behind only the staggering $72 million weekend opening of 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

The new “Apes” release marked the tenth movie in the franchise dating back to the original 1968 film starring Charlton Heston. Analyst Paul Dergarabedian observed, “This franchise has never been allowed to lose its momentum; there are very few franchises that have this kind of longevity.”

Interestingly, the latest film has no central characters or actors in common with its predecessors, proving this enduring love has little to do with star power but is rooted in the blend of social commentary, pop culture, and the magic of sci-fi.

Critically acclaimed, “Kingdom” boasted an ‘80% fresh’ rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes and a ‘B’ CinemaScore, bolstered by rave reviews of its visual effects and CGI wonders that even surpassed the last film in the franchise, 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes.”

This exquisite injection of creativity comes as a welcomed breath of fresh air for the industry, although the future landscape remains uncertain. Amid looming potentials like “Despicable Me 4” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” there equally exists the unpredictability of films like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “Twisters.”

The once revered Pixar, too, treads on uncertain terrain with “Inside Out 2,” and the predictions of whether it will echo the success of its 2015 predecessor still hang in the balance.

“There used to be sure bets we cannot necessarily bank on anymore,” Dergarabedian remarked, magnifying the ambiguity of the coming months in Hollywood. Though tinged with uncertainty, the summer slate of releases may well offer surprise successes and unpredictable flops.

As the dust settled on what was an animated weekend in the world of cinematic releases, the top ten films according to box office revenues were: “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Fall Guy,” “Challengers,” “Tarot,” “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” “Unsung Hero,” “Kung Fu Panda 4,” “Civil War,” “Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace,” and “Abigail.”””