Despite stellar reviews and word of mouth, 20th Century Fox’s War for the Planet of the Apes failed to set the box office alight when it opened earlier this summer, falling short of the first two instalments of the rebooted trilogy at both the domestic and international box office.
However, the film has now made its way into Chinese cinemas, where it set a new Fox record with an opening weekend of $62.3 million, pushing its global haul beyond the $400 million mark with $432 million and counting. Globally, it could well go on to surpass 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($481.8 million), but will still fall someway short of the franchise leader Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which grossed $710.6 million in 2014.
In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.
War for the Planet of the Apes sees Matt Reeves directing a cast that includes Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Michael Adamthwaite, Gabriel Chavarria, Max Lloyd-Jones, Sara Canning, Amiah Miller, Aleks Paunovic and Chad Rook.
Originally published September 17, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
