Bad pun alert! Audiences went bananas for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which debuted at $73M plus another $30M international for a solid $103M weekend.That's close to $20M above what Rise of the Planet of the Apes did three years ago, and that went on to a robust $481M overall. So this is good news for 20th Century Fox as they seek to recoup the $170M production budget, and it's also good for director Matt Reeves in his most high-profile directing gig yet after monster flick Cloverfield and the horror remake, Let Me In. It also means we're likely to see Andy Serkis suited up for a third film, and maybe he'll finally get the Academy Awards recognition he's so long deserved?
2. Transformers: Age of Extinction- $16.5M/$209M
$752M worldwide and counting.
3. Tammy- $12.9M/$57.3M
Audiences don't seem to care about the awful reviews from critics as Tammy only slipped 40% from last week.
4. 22 Jump Street- $6.7M/$171.9M
5. How to Train Your Dragon 2- $5.8M/$152M
6. Earth to Echo- $5.5M/$24.5M
Taking advantage of the rarity of live-action kiddie films, Earth to Echo excelled in its second week with only a 34% drop. Right now the film is up to $24.5M, nearly double its budget. Chances are it will take a hit when Planes: Fire and Rescue opens next week.
7. Deliver Us from Evil- $4.7M/$25M
8. Maleficent- $4.1M/$221.9M
9. Begin Again- $2.9M/$5.2M
Expanding to 939 theaters is John Carney's Begin Again, his follow-up to the beloved 2006 musical-romance, Once. That small Irish film came out of nowhere to become a critical, Oscar-winning favorite, but Begin Again is much more of a studio effort with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in the leads. The results have been decidedly mixed (although I loved it) with the major complaint that it's basically a redo of Once, and maybe that talk has tempered the audience somewhat.
10. Jersey Boys- $2.5M/$41.7M
