A new report onKingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ box office performance is reassuring news amidst the previously uncertain future of thePlanet of the Apesfranchise. Set many generations after Caesar’s death in thePlanet of the Apestimeline,Kingdomintroduced an all-new set of characters. Although the film dealt with the legacy of Caesar,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apestook place in a very different world from what we had followed in the previous three films.Kingdomwas expected to be the “Rise” of a new trilogy, but sequels are yet to be confirmed.
Disney took an interesting approach withPlanet of the Apesfollowing the 20th Century Fox acquisition, opting for a movie set in the same continuity as the previous three entries rather than a reboot or a remake of the 1968 classic.Kingdomteased that a new confrontation between humans and apes could start at any momentnow that Mae had completed her mission. The film received solid reviews and set up an exciting future for the franchise, whose sequels appear to be inevitable followingTHR’s recentreport onKingdom of the Planet of the Apes’box office.
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' Box Office Left The Trilogy Plans Uncertain
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Grossed $397 Million Globally
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesmade nearly $400 million at the box office on a $160 million budget. Based on a more traditional 2.5x rule that is often used to estimate how much a movie needs to make to turn a profit,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ box officewas apparently just enough for it to break even in theaters. This is without considering other financial aspects such as home release sales. Still, given thatKingdomcontinued a franchise decline trend that started withWargrossing less thanDawn,Disney could’ve gotten cold feet about the franchise.
The modernPlanet of the Apesfranchise has grossed over $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office, from 2011’sRise of the Planet of the Apesto 2024’sKingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Ever since Disney bought 20th Century Fox, the studio has revived quite a few major IPs under the 20th Century banner. This includesPredator, which returned with a well-received film released straight to Hulu in 2022 –Prey. Disney has also brought backAlienwith a theatrical release, 2024’sAlien: Romulus. WhereasPreyandRomuluswere very much standalone films with some connections to their respective franchises,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apesfelt like a direct continuation of the previous three films, albeit with a significant time jump and new characters.
Planet Of The Apes' Trilogy Update Indicates Kingdom’s Sequels Will Happen
THR Reports That Kingdom’s Box Office Was Good Enough To Greenlight A Trilogy
PerThe Hollywood Reporter, Disney treatedKingdom of the Planet of the Apesas somewhat of a test for the franchise, whose previous film,War for the Planet of the Apes, had come out two years before the 20th Century Fox acquisition. It was unclear what Disney’s plans for the Fox franchises were, but the announcement that the nextPlanet of the Apesfilm wasn’t going to be a reboot but rather a sequel to the Andy Serkis-led trilogy was met with excitement.THRestimates thatKingdom’s performance was good enough for Disney to move forwardwith a trilogy.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011
$471 million
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2014
$710.6 million
War for the Planet of the Apes
2017
$490.7 million
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
2024
$397.4 million
The modernPlanet of the Apesfranchiseconsisted of many “sleeper hits” – films that didn’t quite make as much noise as some of the biggest IP-based blockbusters but still performed well enough to main the franchise going.Rise of the Planet of the Apeskickstarted the reboot franchise grossing over $471 million;Dawntook the saga to the next level both critically and financially with a total gross of $710 million, andWarwrapped up the Caesar trilogy with $490.7 million worldwide in 2017. Disney confirmed a newPlanet of the Apesfilm shortly after it bought 20th Century Fox.
Given thatWarhad performed somewhat poorly compared toDawn, predicting howKingdomwas going to do was difficult. On the one hand, the modernPlanet of the Apesfranchise has been constantly delivering critically acclaimed films with groundbreaking visual effects ever since 2011. On the other hand, the franchise’s last major box office hit had been in 2014 withDawn. However, between director Wes Ball saying thatKingdomwas conceived as the first chapter in a new saga andTHR’s latest report,it seems likely thatKingdom of the Planet of the Apeswill get a sequel.
Why Disney Hasn’t Officially Confirmed Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' Sequels
Kingdom Concluded Its Theatrical Run On July 2024
Part of the reason why there had been so much uncertainty regarding how wellKingdom of the Planet of the Apesperformed compared to the studio’s expectations is thatDisney has yet to make any official announcements regarding a sequel.Both the director and the cast ofKingdom of the Planet of the Apeshave talked about ideas that have been discussed, but no official announcement has been made. However, based on THR’s report, it appears that is only a matter of time before anewPlanet of the Apesmovieis confirmed.
Disney now has a clearer picture of howKingdom of the Planet of the Apesdid both critically and financially.
Disney likely was or still is striking deals with the creatives and the talent, which would explain why an announcement hasn’t happened. Given thatKingdom of the Planet of the Apeswas reportedly labeled as a test to see whether the franchise could continue, the studio may not have wanted to get a sequel going too far in advance. With the theatrical run finished and the home release numbers in, Disney now has a clearer picture of howKingdom of the Planet of the Apesdid both critically and financially. Hopefully, a sequel announcement won’t take long.
Planet Of The Apes' New Trilogy Can Continue The Exciting Story Kingdom Set-Up
Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Was Clearly The Start Of A Larger Story
Regardless of the financial aspect,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ endingset up an exciting new trilogy that will hopefully move forward at Disney. Not only didKingdomsucceed at acknowledging the legacy of the previous three films, but it also moved the story forward. WhileKingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ timeline is still relatively far away from that of the originalPlanet of the Apesmovies, this new trilogy can take the saga in a very different direction from the relatively grounded Caesar trilogy.
Every Single Planet Of The Apes Movie (In Chronological Order)
The Planet of the Apes timeline is a bit confusing, so we arranged them in their proper chronological order
Between Noa looking at the stars and Mae giving humanity a new chance to fight,Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ potential sequel has a lot of interesting possibilities. A new film can double down on the conflict between humans and apes, this time with humanity trying to reclaim a planet that once belonged to them. This new trilogy can also dive deep into the sci-fi aspect of the saga, perhaps already bringing in the astronauts and time travel. The Andy Serkis trilogy only got better with each film, which will hopefully happen again in this new saga.
Cast
Set several years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the next installment in the Apes saga. Ape clans have taken up residence in the oasis that Caesar sought to colonize, but humans have reverted to their animalistic nature in their absence. Now battling between enslavement and freedom, outliers in the Ape clans will take sides in a newly burgeoning society.
