The Truth About The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Box Office

Movies

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Many in the box office media have been pointing to the larger than expected opening for the latest movie in the Planet of the Apes franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Making over $130 million globally and over $58 million domestically, there is no doubt that the film over-performed and that it is currently one of the biggest releases of the year. The main issue with all of this, of course, is that the 2024 box office (much like the 2023 box office and before) isn’t really that impressive. To be perfectly frank, saying that any movie is one of the largest in a year like this would be like saying you have the largest slice of pineapple pizza from a personal pan. Not only is a personal pan pizza one of the smallest of all pizzas, but the slice also still has pineapple on it. With pizza talk out of the way, let’s break down the numbers from the Apes franchise from 2001 to today.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Has Franchise’s Lowest Domestic Opening Since 2001

For anyone wondering why I am only going back to the year 2001 and not to the original Planet of the Apes from the 1960s, the reasoning ultimately comes down to practicality. The fact is that the box office has changed so much over the years, and the international advantage of today’s world easily towers over the original films. That being said, it is worth noting that when you adjust for inflation or compare ticket sales, the original Apes film easily beats the latest release. 

Now let’s get to Marky Mark’s movie. The 2001 reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise opened to $118,562,021 when you adjust for inflation. If conversation about inflation triggers you, then it would also be good to note that if you were to compare the ticket sales between the 2001 and 2024 releases, the Wahlberg film would still easily beat it. Taking into account the average ticket price for movies in 2001 and understanding that movie tickets today cost, on average, around $13, the 2001 film sold around 12,108,297 tickets, whereas the 2024 film sold only 4,492,368 tickets. Including the movies from the Caesar trilogy, the ticket sales for those were roughly 6,911,247, 9,122,039, and 6,272,344 tickets for each (respectively). What these numbers show is that the newest film is a far cry from the 2001 reboot and sold millions fewer tickets compared to each of the last three films to be released.  While Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may be one of the biggest releases in 2024, it is well below the other more recent films in the franchise.

The RCC Chart Indicates Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Will Likely Flop

One of the other factors to consider when comparing the box office of these movies is what the actual box office profits or losses were for those other films. Since, on average, most movies make roughly 30% of their entire global box office in the first weekend of release, the chances of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes reaching between $350-$400 million is very likely. The problem with this estimate is that because of a budget of around $160 million (and assuming typical average marketing costs), the film needs to make roughly $400 million just to break even. Remembering, however, that when films make a lot more money internationally versus their domestic totals, that break-even amount goes up, which means the chance of this movie losing money is just as likely. As of this writing, the latest Apes movie has made $68,848,737 domestically, $61,390,956 internationally (without China), and $11,308,138 from China alone. Using my RCC method, this means that the film is currently in the red by about -$174,749,778. For a frame of reference, the profits for the other films going back to 2001 in order are as follows: $21,886,457 (2001), $75,408,508 (2011), $60,539,665 (2014), and $26,986,900 (2017). With the summer movie season officially underway and films like Furiosa set to open in about a week, the chances of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes making a big enough splash to make up its current losses don’t seem likely. The latest projections indicate that the new Apes film will drop around 55% domestically from its opening weekend, which, for a movie of its size, is a healthy sign. Despite all of this, however, that hold wouldn’t be strong enough to indicate a profitable future clearly. If we assume that Apes reaches $200 million worldwide this weekend (which is likely, and it could even make more), the film would have to double what it has made just to reach $400 million globally. As I indicated earlier with my RCC charting, the film likely needs to make something closer to $480 million to break even because of how much it will be making internationally.

All of this data ultimately shows that the opening weekend for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was not nearly as impressive as many have been indicating, especially when you compare it to other films in the franchise. We have also been able to show that Apes is still very far from reaching its break-even point because of how the box office splits and the fact that it still cost $160 million to make before accounting for any kind of marketing. Though one could argue that the multiple producers/production companies could mean some cash will flow to Disney as the sole distributor, as an individual release, the current data does not indicate that it will be able to recoup what was spent. 

For video coverage of this past weekend’s box office, check out my latest video HERE. 

If you want further analysis on these or any other films, check out the full charting I do over at my website. Have a wonderful rest of your day, and as always, God bless! 

(If you ever want further insight into my methodology, see my previous articles HERE and HERE and the RCC method I use to break down movies internationally HERE.)