Tracking for War for the Planet of the Apes suggests that the action movie is on target for a $65 million opening at the box office.
Early industry tracking puts the third movie in the relaunched Apes franchise in the $55 – $65 million range for its opening weekend, which would place it well among the franchise’s other installments.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes opened to $54.8 million back in 2011 and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes brought in $72.6 million in 2014. The two movies together accumulated $1.2 billion worldwide.
War is being well received by critics, currently holding a score of 78 on review aggregator metacritic. For some context, Rise and Dawn managed scores of 68 and 79, respectively.
SEE ALSO: Read our review of War for the Planet of the Apes here
The critical response seems to match up with the box office projections, with War for the Planet of the Apes looking to land somewhere in between the first and second instalments.
Of course, like all major blockbusters in today’s market, the ultimate success of War will come down to its performance overseas.
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 is set for release on July 14th. The film is directed by Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and features 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.