It’s been a bummer of a summer at the box office this year, but there’s one outlier. 20th Century Studios’Kingdom of the Planet of the Apeshas proven that there’s interest yet inthe long-running science-fiction franchise, which was riskily rebooted a little over a decade ago, and soft-rebooted once again this year after a significant period of inactivity. But despite featuring no stars to speak of — and barely any human faces at all —Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesnot only opened strongly but has continued to perform well in the last few weeks.
With $140 million domestically and nearly $200 million from overseas markets, the film’scumulative global haul now stands at $337 million— making it the only recent release to pass such a milestone.Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesis eying around $400 million in lifetime global revenue, which means that itwon’t be able to match the global performances of its three predecessors. But in the next few days, the film will overtakeWar for the Planet of the Apes’ $146 million lifetime domestic haul to become the third-biggest installment ofthe Planet of the Apes reboot series.
Afteran ill-fated 2001 rebootdirected byTim Burton, which, by the way, was also a box office success, the franchise was re-invigorated in 2011, with directorRupert Wyatt’sRise of the Planet of the Apes, which concluded its global run with around $470 million worldwide. But it wasn’t until directorMatt Reevestook over that the series began to attract true pop-culture recognition, especially forAndy Serkis’ ground-breaking motion-capture performanceas the ape Caesar.
‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Is Expected to Start a New Trilogy
Planet of the Apes Reboot Movies
Global Box Office
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
$470 million
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
$710 million
War for the Planet of the Apes
$490 million
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
$337 million (and counting)
Released in 2014, Reeves’Dawn of the Planet of the Apesgrossed over $700 million worldwide, while 2017’sWar for the Planet of the Apesconcluded its global run with nearly $500 million globally. Both movies received widespread critical acclaim for their visual effects, dark tone, and Reeves’ direction.Kingdom of the Planet of the Apescontinued the series’ streak of positive reception, although response was noticeably more muted this time around. Directed byWes Ball, who remains best known for hisMaze Runnertrilogy of films,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesholdsan 80% approval ratingon the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes.
Set a few hundred years after the events ofWar, the movie is expected to starta new trilogy, having introduced a whole host of new characters. Produced on a reported budget of $160 million,Kingdom of the Planet of the ApesstarsOwen Teague,Freya Allan,William H. Macy,Kevin Durand, andPeter Macon. You can watch the film in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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.
