More than five decades since a group of astronauts led by Charlton Heston took a ill-fated journey to a strange world, moviegoers are still ape over the “Planet of the Apes” franchise.
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the latest entry in the series of films about a planet ruled by talking apes, made a smash debut over the weekend, ruling the box office chart with a monster $56.5 million.
The performance of the film was particularly impressive, coming seven years after a trilogy that concluded with “War of the Planet of the Apes.” Unlike previous installments, “KOTPOTA” has no well-known stars as a lure for audiences.
In second place was “The Fall Guy,” the stunt-heavy action film that had a lackluster launch last week. The movie declined a respectable 51% percent with $13.7 million for a total of $49.7 million.
The steamy tennis romance “Challengers,” with $4.7 million, the horror movie “Tarot,” with $3.5 million, and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” with $2.5 million, rounded out the top five films.