Those ticket sales were a hair above early projections of $50 million to $55 million and were easily enough to tower over the nonexistent competition. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opened roughly even with two of the three prior installments in the rebooted franchise, landing behind only 2014s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (a seriesbest $72 million) and ahead of 2017s War for the Planet of the Apes ($56.2 million) and 2011s Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($54.8 million). The weekend figure is roughly average for the genre, but average here is based on the biggest action films of all time, says David A. Gross of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. This is an excellent opening. Popular on Variety An opening thats in line with projections is great and all, but Gross says the exhibition industry is still waiting for something to jolt the market and electrify summer moviegoing. Right now, the domestic box office is down roughly 22% from 2023 and 42% from 2019. In the coming weeks and months, theater owners are relying on tentpoles like Deadpool & Wolverine, Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2 to crush expectations and salvage the summer season. The newest film in the longrunning Apes series cost $160 million to produce (less than the two prior $190 millionbudgeted films) and, like its predecessors, is expected to be bigger at the international box office. The film debuted to $72.5 million overseas, bringing its global tally to a solid $129 million. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth installment in the reimagined property and 10th in the 56yearold series, hasnt been as widely embraced as its predecessors. But critics and audiences have responded positively to the film, which holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and B on CinemaScore. Directed by Wes Ball, this Apes story takes place many, many years after the reign of Caesar (the revolutionary leader played by Andy Serkis) and follows a young ape named Noa (Owen Teague) as he embarks on a journey with a human named Mae (Freya Allan) to forge a path for the future of the two species. With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes as this weekends only major newcomer, holdover titles rounded out box office charts. Last weekends champion The Fall Guy landed in a distant second place with $13.7 million, an expected 51% decline from its debut. So far, the actioncomedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt has grossed $49.6 million domestically and $103 million worldwide. The Fall Guy cost a hefty $140 million, so its relying on interest at the international box office to stick the landing and redeem its theatrical run. Zendayas sexy tennis drama Challengers remained at No. 3 with $4.6 million from 2,609 theaters. After three weekends of release, director Luca Guadagninos film has generated $38 million in North America and $68.7 million worldwide. Thats a decent result for an Rrated arthouse drama. However, Challengers was backed by Amazon MGM and, at a cost of $55 million, wasnt budgeted like an indie. It needs a long life in theaters to justify its price tag before landing on the streamer. In fourth place, Sony and Screen Gems lowbudget horror film Tarot collected $3.4 million in its second weekend of release. Tarot, a supernatural story about friends who unleash evil from a cursed deck of tarot cards, has amassed $12 million in North America and $20 million globally. But it cost just $8 million, so its well positioned in its bigscreen stint. Godzilla x Kong A New Empire rounded out the top five with $2.5 million from 2,531 venues. The monster tentpole, from Warner Bros. and Legendary, has impressively remained in the top five for seven consecutive weekends and has grossed $191 million domestically and $558.8 million globally to date. Its the secondhighest grossing movie of the year behind another Warner Bros. and Legendary collaboration, Dune Part Two ($708 million). Elsewhere, the divine parody Not Another Church Movie cratered with a dismal $360,000 from 1,108 North American locations.
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