Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes roared into theatres, dominating the domestic as well as overseas box office with great opening figures. The Hollywood title surpassed expectations, surpassing the domestic haul of $56.5 million with a powerful international showing that brought the global total to a mighty $129 million. Following the footsteps of its predecessors Disney and 20th Century’s Apes made on a budget of $160 million is expected to land into the heavy profit section making it one of the biggest titles of 2024.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opens to a strong premiere
The newest release in the Planet of the Apes series dominated the North American box office with an impressive opening of $56.5 million. This latest Disney title is grossing well domestically, contrasting with the extremely mediocre debut of Universal’s The Fall Guy, which opened to $27.7 million. The film starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt opened over the May 5-7 weekend. Film critics have attributed Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ success to the strong attendance from both younger and veteran fans of the franchise.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes reigns in China
The film starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan and Kevin Durand, with Peter Macon, and William H. Macy in the lead roles, was a huge success in mainland China, which is known for its challenging market for Western titles. This marks the fourth weekend this year that a Hollywood film has topped the China charts and the third time in 2024 that a Hollywood title has debuted at the top, according to Variety.
South Korea box office
In Korea, the Wes Ball-directed film opened in the second position at the box office, with the top spot being taken by The Roundup: Punishment. Don Lee’s Roundup franchise, which debuted its fourth instalment, Punishment, continues to perform well at the South Korean box office. The weekend earnings amounted to $5.53 million, bringing the total earnings to $67 million, slightly less than its previous franchise instalments. In previous years, The Roundup earned $95.7 million in 2022, and The Roundup: No Way Out earned $76.3 million last year.
Speaking of Kingdom, the movie earned $2.45m on its opening weekend. It has an overall market share of 26%, according to Variety. Set 300 years after War of the Apes in 2021, the story follows young Noa, a chimp, as he starts his adventure with a human woman, Mae.