Cheer up, Caesar! With some solid reviews and positive word of mouth, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes was able to make a monkey (har har) out of the competition this weekend, earning a healthy $54 million at the US box office.
Last week’s heck-and-neck duo The Smurfs and Cowboys and Aliens both took a tumble, with the little blue creatures down 41% for $21 million and Jon Favreau’s Western-meets-sci-fi romp falling 58% for a $15.7 million second weekend. They were shoved down to second and third place, respectively.
There was a serious lack of good news for new Jason Bateman/Ryan Reynolds comedy The Change-Up, which launched in fourth place with a decidedly average $13.5 million. It’ll have to work to recoup its reported $52 million budget.** Captain America: The First Avenger** rounded out the top five with $13 million in its third week.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was sixth with $12.2 million, Crazy, Stupid, Love slipped to seventh with $12.1 million, and Friends with Benefits was eighth with $4.7 million. At ninth we find the other Jason Bateman comedy, Horrible Bosses, which earned $4.6 million and in 10th place, followed by Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which added $3 million for a running US total take of $344.1 million.
To revolt against your oppressive overlords, start the revolution with figures over at Box Office Mojo.