Theater counts: Planet of the Apes holds off a bevy of newcomers to remain widest release

May 16, 2024

After a solid opening week at the box office for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the latest primate venture rolls into its second week retaining its debut count of 4,075 theaters, making it once again the most widely-available film in North America. It outperformed most expectations by earning $58.4 million in its opening weekend, and currently enjoys a six-day total of $72.32 million. This week sees another trio of films arriving in wide release, one of which holds a good chance of toppling reigning box office title holder from its top spot.

The largest of the fresh faces arriving to theaters this week is the live-action/animated comedy feature IF. Directed by John Krasinski, the film follows a young girl named Bea,who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends and decides to embark on an enchanted adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids. The movie contains a who’s who of Hollywood talent, headlined by Ryan Reynolds, along with Cailey Fleming, who plays the part of Bea. It is Krasinski’s fifth foray in the director’s chair, after most notably helming 2018's A Quiet Place, and its sequel, A Quiet Place Part II. IF will begin its domestic run in 4,041 venues.

Also opening in wide release this week is the horror flick The Strangers: Chapter 1. Making its entrance in 2,856 locations, the film follows a young couple who are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin after their car breaks down, only to be terrorized throughout the night by a trio of masked killers. The film is the third installment in The Strangers franchise that began back in 2008. The movie stars Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez, while being directed by Renny Harlin.

Finally, the Amy Winehouse biographical drama, Back to Black, makes its nationwide release this weekend. The film charts the story of Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album Back to Black, which catapulted her to global fame. The film stars Marisa Abela as the superstar singer, and will be available in 2,010 movie houses.

Also of note is the release of the high-flying aviation documentary, The Blue Angels. Playing throughout the week in 227 theaters, The Blue Angels will be screened at IMAX theaters from May 17-23, 2024, before its May 23rd streaming release on Prime Video.

Rounding out the top five this week is The Fall Guy, dipping below 4,000 locations to land in 3,845 theaters this week. Lastly, coming in as the fifth-widest release this week is Abigail, dropping 770 venues this week for a total of 2,334 locations.

Looking ahead to next week, we once again see a trio of newcomers making their way into North American cinemas with the likes of The Garfield Movie, Sight, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The latter is projected to debut in approximately 3,700 locations.

Theater Counts for May 17

Estimates for May 24

Filed under: Theater Counts, Mad Max, The Strangers, A Quiet Place, John Krasinski, Ryan Reynolds, Amy Winehouse, Madelaine Petsch, Cailey Fleming, Froy Gutierrez, Marisa Abela