Who would’ve thought box office success would be so … hairy.
Well actually, pretty much everyone. Most assumed that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes would run away with this week’s box office title. The film’s predecessor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, was a simian smash in 2011, and critics declared Dawn to be a chimp off the old block. Indeed, the secular press thinks the sequel is as fun as a barrel of monkeys (it’s now hovering at around 91% “fresh” on rottentomatoes.com), all of which indicated that fans might go bananas for the flick, as well. Still, the fact that Dawn made an estimated $73 million opening weekend—a full third more than its predecessor—surprised some prognosticators. Perhaps apes are in fashion: Orang-utans are the new black, as it were.
There were no other major new releases this week, so Dawn certainly didn’t need to engage in, ahem, gorilla warfare to topple its relatively aged competitors. Transformers: Age of Extinction, which had stood astride the box office the last two weeks, slipped to second, earning a comparatively paltry $16.5 million. Mourn not for Optimus Prime and his CGI crew, though. The new Transformers movie crossed the $200 million threshold for its domestic run and now ranks fifth among movies released in 2014.
Tammy, the R-rated comedy starring Melissa McCarthy, also slipped a spot. It was the only other film to crest the $10 million mark this week, earning $12.9 million to finish third.
Another R-rated laugher, 22 Jump Street, slid from third to fourth, collecting $6.7 million. And How to Train Your Dragon 2 held tight to the No. 5 slot with a $5.9 million haul. While Dreamworks’ scaly sequel started out its run slowly, it’s now earned $152.1 million domestically, making it the second-most successful animated flick this year (behind The LEGO Movie). Clearly, Toothless still has a little bite.
Final figures update: 1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, $72.6 million; 2. Transformers: Age of Extinction, $16.3 million; 3. Tammy, $12.6 million; 4. 22 Jump Street, $6.5 million; 5. How to Train Your Dragon 2, $6.1 million.
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