It took a set of evolved primates to end the dominance of colossal transforming robots at the box office. "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" became king of the multiplex after taking in $73 million over the weekend in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates.
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," the 3-D sequel to the 2011 blockbuster
The sequel stars
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'" performance helped 20th Century Fox to become the first studio to cross the billion-dollar mark in box-office sales for the U.S. and Canada this year. Fox's 2014 tally stands at $1.015 billion.
With no other major competition entering the marketplace, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” was able to push another blockbuster tent pole,
The fourth
But a bigger story emerged far outside the top 10: "Boyhood," director Richard Linklater's 12-years-in-the-making drama, grossed $359,000 from just five screens over the weekend during its initial limited release.
The per-screen average of $71,800 reflected sellouts at theaters in New York and Los Angeles. “Boyhood” secured the second-highest per-screen average of the year following the record-breaking performance of
The scripted coming-of-age film — shot in chunks over a dozen years — follows a boy (Ellar Coltrane) growing up while his parents (
"Looking back, it seemed like a tremendous risk. But at that time when we sat down, it seemed like an obvious easy yes," said Jonathan Sehring, whose IFC Films financed "Boyhood" and released the film.
IFC, which is owned by AMC Networks, had financed Linklater's real-time relationship drama "Tape" and animated cerebral picture "Waking Life" by the time the director approached Sehring about "Boyhood."
"It came prior to our company greenlighting 'Mad Men' and 'Breaking Bad,'" Sehring said. "It's all about embracing great storytelling. Everything could have gone wrong, and nothing did. Everybody had the same goal and the same vision and the same passion. And that all goes back to [Linklater]."
He added that the audience so far has been "everyone from octogenarians to 13-year-olds — and they are all applauding. It's really gratifying."
Sehring said the film will expand to 10 markets next weekend.