Friday Box Office: 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' Off to Strong Start
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is looking to be the film that finally knocks Transformers: Age of Extinction from the top of the box office heap.
The sequel grossed an estimated $27.7 million in North America, putting it on track to a weekend debut of roughly $70 million. This would place it far ahead of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which debuted with $54.8 million in August 2011. The film, which is a fairly big hit with critics, also outpaced the original in totals for midnight shows. Thursday night, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes raked in $4.1 million from select theaters, which is more than twice the $1.3 million total for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Meanwhile, Transformers: Age of Extinction dropped to No. 2 on Friday, as the film collected just under $5 million. However, the film's fortunes haven't exactly plummeted, as the massive blockbuster is expected to surpass $200 million in North America before the weekend is through.
As for the rest of the Top 5, Melissa McCarthy continues to hang in there with Tammy, an underperformer last week that is managing to remain at a comfortable No. 3 with just over $4 million for Friday. Perhaps predictions of its failure were premature? Realistically, the film wasn't going to be as strong a franchise comedy like 22 Jump Street, so I'm not sure it was right to hold Tammy to that same standard. For example, 22 Jump Street has been out for well over a month, and it has shown remarkable resiliency. It is expected to come in at No. 4 for the weekend after ranking fourth on Friday with a little over $2 million. Its domestic total is now predicted to pass $170 million this weekend.
In other news, much like last week, Earth to Echo and How to Train Your Dragon 2 are virtually tied, bringing in approximately $1.75 million to tie for fifth. How to Train Your Dragon 2 is well on its way to passing the $150 million mark in domestic totals this weekend, so even if it loses out to Earth to Echo, the Dreamworks animated sequel has nothing to be ashamed about.
Lastly, Richard Linklater's Boyhood has finally been released after being shot intermittently over the course of 12 years. Starring Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, and newcomer Ellar Coltrane, the film marks the growth of one boy from early adolescence to young adulthood. Boyhood is already among the year's biggest critical hits, without even factoring in its win for directing at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival in the aftermath of its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Boyhood debuted in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles in limited release, raking in $102,161 for a per-theater average of $20,432. This will bring the film past $300,000, which is impressive for a limited release film.
But the weekend is still young, and a lot can change. We'll be back tomorrow for more updates on how the war for the weekend box office is playing out.
Credit: 20th Century Fox