Box Office Report: Apes Together Strong

Box Office analysis is provided by Daniel Garris of BoxOfficeReport.com.

Weekend Box Office Report: May 10th, 2024 to May 12th, 2024

Disney and 20th Century's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was off to a strong first place start this weekend with $58.40 million. That was above consensus pre-release expectations for the film, which had tended to range from $45 million to $55 million heading into the weekend. The fourth installment of the current Planet of the Apes franchise also delivered the second largest debut for a film in the current franchise, behind only the $72.61 million start of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes back in July of 2014. The opening weekend performance for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes came in higher than the $54.81 million debut of Rise of the Planet of the Apes in August of 2011 and the $56.26 million opening of the previous Planet of the Apes film, War for the Planet of the Apes back in July of 2017. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes did come in below the $68.53 million launch of the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes in July of 2001, which gives Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes the third largest opening weekend ever for a Planet of the Apes film. The Wes Ball directed Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes benefited from good critical reviews and also benefited from seven years of ticket price inflation since the release of War for the Planet of the Apes. And while Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a continuation of the current Planet of the Apes series, the relatively long gap since the last film gave Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes the feeling of being a soft relaunch of the franchise following the three previous films focused on the Caesar character. The stronger than expected performance of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was also welcome news for the theatrical marketplace in general following what had been a relatively slow month of April, as well as a relatively slow first weekend of May last week.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes started out with $22.17 million on Friday (which included an estimated $6.6 million from preview shows - $5.0 million from traditional Thursday previews that began at 3PM and an additional $1.6 million from select early access shows on Wednesday), declined a promising 9.9 percent on Saturday to take in $19.97 million and with a Mother's Day boost on Sunday, declined just 18.6 percent to gross $16.26 million for the day. In the current Planet of the Apes series, previous films haven't been preview-heavy and that trend continued with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, as the film had an opening weekend to previews ratio of 8.85 to 1. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes received a B rating on CinemaScore, which while solid overall, points towards word of mouth being mixed for a Planet of the Apes film (the previous three Planet of the Apes films all received A- ratings on CinemaScore). With that said, the film's initial daily percentage holds point towards Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes going over better with audiences than the film's CinemaScore rating would indicate, at least thus far. The audience breakdown for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes skewed 60 percent male, 40 percent female, a significant 69 percent over 25 and 31 percent under 25. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes grossed an estimated $7.0 million from domestic IMAX screens this weekend, while all premium formats (including IMAX) were responsible for an estimated 41 percent of this weekend's overall domestic take.

Internationally, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes started out with $72.7 million from 52 international markets. That places the film's global launch at $131.1 million. International debuts by market for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes this weekend included $11.4 million in China, $7.1 million in France, $6.4 million in Mexico, $4.8 million in the United Kingdom, $3.2 million in South Korea, $2.7 million in Australia, $2.6 million in Brazil, $2.2 million in Germany, $2.2 million in Spain and $1.9 million in Indonesia. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes grossed an estimated $6.2 million from international IMAX screens, for an estimated global IMAX total of $13.2 million.

Universal's The Fall Guy placed in second this weekend with $13.70 million. That represented a 50.6 percent decline from last weekend's debut. While The Fall Guy had a respectable second weekend hold this weekend, the hold was inflated a bit from Mother's Day on Sunday, and the film could have also used at least a slightly better hold this weekend after last weekend's underwhelming start. The Fall Guy did take a hit from losing its IMAX screens to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes this weekend and will still have a good chance of stabilizing further next weekend thanks in part to the film's good critical reviews and strong word of mouth. The Fall Guy is currently just short of the $50 million domestic mark with a ten-day domestic start of $49.70 million.

This weekend's international hold was more concerning for The Fall Guy, as the film took in $9.4 million from 80 international markets. That brings the film's international total to $54.0 million and current global haul to $103.7 million. International totals by market for The Fall Guy through Sunday include $8.3 million in the United Kingdom, $6.6 million in Australia, $3.6 million in Mexico, $3.5 million in France, $3.3 million in Germany and $2.6 million in Spain. The Fall Guy will open in China this coming Friday (May 17).

Amazon MGM Studios' Challengers took in $4.38 million this weekend to hold steady in third place. Challengers declined 42.3 percent from last weekend. While that was still a respectable hold and represented some stabilization from last weekend, Challengers clearly wasn't a popular Mother's Day choice after all (the film declined 37.1 percent from Saturday on Sunday). It should be noted that Challengers took a hit this weekend from playing in a significant 868 fewer locations than the film played in last weekend. The 17-day domestic total for the well-received Challengers stands at a respectable $37.77 million. Internationally (where the film is being handled by Warner Bros.), Challengers grossed $4.1 million this weekend from 63 international markets. To date, respective totals for Challengers stand at $30.8 million internationally and at $68.5 million globally. International totals by market for Challengers through Sunday include $5.9 million in the United Kingdom, $3.9 million in Italy, $3.0 million in France, $2.6 million in Australia, $2.2 million in Mexico, $2.1 million in Germany and $1.1 million in Spain.

Sony's Tarot grossed $3.40 million to place in fourth for a second consecutive frame. While word of mouth appears to be mixed for Tarot, the PG-13 rated horror film was still able to hold up fairly well this weekend by declining 47.7 percent from last weekend's debut. Tarot was helped out this weekend by holding onto a high percentage of its average showtimes per location from last weekend and from no new horror films entering the marketplace this weekend. Tarot will have to deal with new direct competition for horror fans next weekend with Lionsgate's release of The Strangers: Chapter 1 this coming Friday. The ten-day domestic start for Tarot stands at $11.97 million, which is respectable with the film's small price-tag and scaled back marketing campaign in mind. Internationally, Tarot grossed an estimated $3.0 million this weekend from 35 international markets. Respective totals for Tarot stand at $8.2 million internationally and at $20.2 million globally. Tarot will open in additional international markets this coming week, including Brazil, Germany and Mexico all on Thursday (May 16).

Warner Bros. and Legendary's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire took in $2.61 million to continue to round out the weekend top five. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire experienced a 42.5 percent decline from last weekend, which was respectable, especially given the new direct competition the film faced from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The 45-day domestic total for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire stands at $191.91 million (the film has now moved just past Kung Fu Panda 4 to become the second highest grossing release of 2024 domestically thus far). Internationally, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire grossed $3.0 million this weekend from 78 international markets. Respective totals for the film stand at $366.6 million internationally and at $558.5 million globally.

Meanwhile, Lionsgate's Unsung Hero clearly saw a boost from Mother's Day this weekend, as the film declined a slim 14.7 percent this weekend to place in sixth with $2.55 million. On Mother's Day Sunday, Unsung Hero grossed $1.21 million, which was a 47.3 percent increase over Saturday's performance. This weekend's strong hold for Unsung Hero helped balance out last weekend's weaker than expected second weekend hold, when the well-received film aimed at faith-based audiences declined a sharp 61.4 percent. Unsung Hero has grossed $17.09 million through 17 days of domestic release, which is solid with both the film's modest expectations and low-price tag in mind.

In international box office news, Sony's computer animated The Garfield Movie grossed an estimated $11.8 million in its second weekend of international release in select markets (the film played in 22 international markets this weekend). The Garfield Movie debuted with $2.1 million in Germany this weekend and grossed $3.1 million in Mexico, where the film has grossed a strong $12.5 million to date. The early international total for The Garfield Movie stands at $36.0 million. The Garfield Movie will continue to open in additional international markets throughout the summer, with upcoming openings including South Korea this coming Wednesday (May 15), Saudi Arabia on Thursday, May 23, the United Kingdom on Friday, May 24, Indonesia on Wednesday, May 29 and Australia on Thursday, May 30. The Garfield Movie will open domestically on May 24.

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