According to inside sources, the highly anticipated film “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” from 20th Century Studios has received an encouraging start with preview numbers reaching around $6.5 million. This figure includes earnings from Thursday night showings that began accruing at 3 PM as well as approximately $1.6 million from Wednesday fan screenings that started at 7 PM. The full extent of the success will be revealed tomorrow morning, but initial indications suggest that it may surpass the record set by 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes”, which garnered $5 million on its preview night and went on to achieve an impressive $22.1 million on Friday and a total opening weekend haul of $56.2 million.
Directed by Wes Ball, this PG-13 sequel is set 300 years after the events depicted in Matt Reeves’ “War for the Planet of the Apes”. Surpassing the Thursday preview numbers of its predecessor, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, which earned $4.25 million before delivering a remarkable $27.6 million on Friday and a massive three-day total of $72.6 million, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” seems poised for success. The film has already garnered an impressive 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes both from critics and audiences alike.
The positive reception of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” stands in stark contrast to the lackluster performance of Universal’s “Fall Guy” last weekend, which only managed to bring in $3.15 million during its Wednesday and Thursday previews and resulted in a disappointing $27.7 million opening weekend. Despite the inherent popularity of Thursday night showings among fans, the true test for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” will be whether it can maintain its momentum throughout the weekend, especially considering its lengthy runtime of 2 hours and 25 minutes.
The early success of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” bodes well for the film’s future prospects at the box office. With a strong start in terms of preview numbers and positive critical reception, all signs point to a potentially lucrative run for this latest installment in the iconic “Planet of the Apes” franchise. Fans and industry analysts alike will be keeping a close eye on its performance in the coming days to see if it can live up to the high expectations set by its predecessors.