In case you haven’t read the myriad of pun headlines, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes went “bananas” at the box office this weekend, opening with a $70M in domestic receipts, and over $100M when the worldwide total is considered from limited release elsewhere.
Like the original reboot before it (that may be an oxymoron), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes received sky high reviews from critics which likely contributed to the haul, but now it appears that the new series started by “Rise” was not a one-time success fluke. As such, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back and the complete history of the series, which includes the original stretch of films from the ’60s and ’70s, and also Tim Burton’s 2001 reboot.
The original Planet of the Apes only grossed $32M over the course of its lifespan, but it obviously became something of a pop culture phenomenon back in 1968, and obviously it influence carries all the way to today. And what’s funny is that even though the current box office era is accused of pumping out endless sequels for successful franchises until the concepts are beaten into the ground, that’s exactly what happened with Planet of the Apes 40 or more years ago.
After the initial success of the original Apes, a sequel was drafted and released by 1970, Beneath the Planet of the Apes. The film was less successful than the original, bringing in only $18M in total, but even that was enough to keep the series going. And so we had:
Escape from Planet of the Apes (1971) – $12M
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) – $9M
Battle of the Planet of the Apes (1973) – $8M
As you can see, it was a downward trend, which can be expected when the filmmakers were so desperate to capitalize on the Apes craze, that they literally released a new sequel every year. At least nowadays, we have the decency to wait two or three years (unless you’re making horror movie sequels, that is).
By 1973, it was clear Ape-mania had run its course, with the new films bringing in a pittance compared to the original, which wasn’t exactly a runaway box office train itself.
And then, the new millennium came, and with it was the dawn of the idea that Hollywood should reboot everything and anything that was once popular.
Planet of the Apes was snatched up quickly, and one of the first true “reboots” from that era, with the same-titled filmed released in 2001. The reboot was helmed by Tim Burton and starred Mark Wahlberg. It eliminated the idea that most humans couldn’t talk, and the apes were portrayed using cutting edge prosthetics to create a rather unnerving effect.
But unlike the newer films, the first attempt to reboot Apes was not a hit with critics, failing to cross even the 50% threshold on Rotten Tomatoes. That said, it dramatically outperformed all the previous Apes movies combined, even factoring in inflation, due to the films presence in the global box office. On a $100M budget, Burton’s Apes grossed $362M worldwide. But still, most has a negative impression of the film, so a true sequel was never released.
It wasn’t until 2011 that the Apes would return, a full decade later, with the James Franco-led Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Another reboot of sorts, but one that told the origin of how the Apes managed to kill off most of humanity (or rather how humanity killed themselves) and first became intelligent. The surprisingly thoughtful and visually fantastic blockbuster was a hit with both audiences and critics this time, and went on to gross $481M worldwide.
Now, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a true sequel to Rise, has already taken in $100M its opening weekend, and seems poised to shoot past its predecessor. That means a third film is inevitable, and it clear the Apes will be continuing to take over the world for some time to come.
[Photos via Legendary Pictures]
