‘Apes’ invades and takes over Friday box office; ‘Spider-Man’ slips to No. 2
“War for the Planet of the Apes,” 20th Century Fox’s latest foray into the story of a world taken over by nonhuman primates, charged into theaters on Friday, generating an estimated $22.1 million in domestic box office receipts. It is projected to take in roughly $57 million over the course of its opening weekend.
This put it ahead of Sony’s teenage superhero flick “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” which drew $13.6 million in its second Friday at the box office, putting its current domestic gross at more than $176 million. But “Apes” will probably have a smaller haul than the previous chapter in the series, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” from 2014, which pulled in $27.6 million on its first Friday and $72.6 million on its opening weekend.
It is likely, however, to best the first film in the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” franchise, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” which was released in 2011 and drew $19.5 million on its opening day and $54.8 million on its opening weekend domestically.
“War for the Planet of the Apes” cost roughly $150 million to produce.
Coming in third Friday was Universal’s “Despicable Me 3,” now in its third week of release. The animated film featuring the ever-popular Minions generated an estimated $6.1 million for a domestic gross of $175.2 million.
Meanwhile, TriStar’s drama “Baby Driver” was fourth with an estimated $2.6-million domestic gross and total box office of $67 million, and Lionsgate’s romantic comedy “The Big Sick,” was fifth, with an estimated $2.5-million domestic haul and a total of almost $11 million
Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter »
ALSO
Review: ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ is a work of stunning blockbuster artistry
How Matt Reeves built a better franchise with ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’
How ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ found a supervillain for the Trump era in Michael Keaton
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ might be the rare Hollywood reboot audiences actually want
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
