Weekend Estimates: Apes Top Chart, Helped by Big Spider-Man Drop

July 16, 2017

War for the Planet of the Apes

A weekend estimate just ahead of our prediction for War for the Planet of the Apes, and a one just below our prediction for Spider-Man: Homecoming means there’s a clear winner at the box office. War will come in with $56.5 million, per Fox’s Sunday morning estimate, while Homecoming will finish second with $45.2 million.

For the ape movie, the opening is somewhat soft compared to the $72.6 million earned by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes when it opened on this weekend three years ago. But excellent reviews should mean the film easily tops $150 million domestically, and $200 million can’t be entirely ruled out. Overseas markets have always been more significant for the franchise though, and it’s a little early to tell how that will play out. For this weekend, the film is projected to earn $46 million, but there are quite a few territories still to come, including South Korea and China, which were Dawn’s biggest two countries. Based on current numbers, it looks as though this will mark a profitable end to a successful franchise for Fox. Even if this is the end of this particular trilogy, it seems likely that the studio will find a way to make more Planet of the Apes movies before too long.

Spider-Man’s decline this weekend, at 61%, is exactly the same as the second-week fall of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and suggests short legs. If it continues of the path of its predecessor, it will end up with $259 million domestically, somewhat ahead of Logan, but well behind the likes of Wonder Woman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Overall, Sony has a lot of reasons to be happy with the outcome for the latest outing for the webbed crusader, but this film doesn’t look like a game changer for the franchise.

Two other wide releases/expansions hit the top 10 this weekend. The Big Sick wraps up its expansion in 5th place in the chart with a projected $7.7 million. It has earned $16 million in total so far, and should continue a strong run through the end of the Summer. Wish Upon will bring in about $5.6 million for Broad Green Pictures, which is the distributor’s third-best weekend, behind A Walk in the Woods and Bad Santa 2. With a theater average of $2,483, the film will probably stick around for a couple more weeks, but it doesn’t look as though it will have great legs.

Among limited releases, we don’t have an official estimate yet for Lady Macbeth, but it should easily top $10,000 per theater, and we’re seeing something around $65,000 from five theaters on opening weekend. A Ghost Story is likewise holding on well, with $140,000 or so on the cards from 20 theaters.

- Weekend estimates

- All-time highest-grossing films worldwide
- Planet of the Apes franchise history
- Spider-Man franchise history
- Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise history
- Despicable Me franchise history
- Pixar box office history
- DC Extended Universe franchise history

- War for the Planet of the Apes comparison chart
- The Big Sick comparison chart
- Wish Upon comparison chart
- Spider-Man: Homecoming comparison chart
- Despicable Me 3 comparison chart
- Baby Driver comparison chart
- Wonder Woman comparison chart
- Cars 3 comparison chart

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Wonder Woman, War for the Planet of the Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Lady Macbeth, The Big Sick, A Ghost Story, Wish Upon, Planet of the Apes, Spider-Man, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Despicable Me, DC Extended Universe