Fox’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes easily topped the weekend box office charts with an estimated $73 million debut, a strong debut for the franchise since it was 33% above the $54.8 million bow of Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011.  But DOPOTA’s debut was not enough to pull Hollywood out of its summer doldrums as the total of the top 12 films slipped 25.7% from the same weekend last year when Despicable Me 2 opened with $83.5 million. 
 
Directed by Matt Reeves, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes attracted an audience that was 58% male, with 55% over 25.  It was also an ethnically diverse crowd that was 48% Caucasian, 23% African-American, 16% Hispanic, and 14% Asian, and they gave the film a solid "A-" CinemaScore, which along with the film’s stellar notices (91% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) should give the latest POTA film solid "legs."  Dawn scored the "largest" debut in franchise history, barely outdistancing Tim Burton’s 2001 reboot, which bowed with $69 million, but at that time it represented the second biggest opening of all time, and since it would be roughly $106 million today, it still stands as something of a commercial high water mark in franchise history in spite of the fact that Burton’s film is generally held in low regard by POTA enthusiasts.
 
Dawn opened in just 26 overseas territories (only 2 of which, Korea and Australia, are considered major) and earned $31.1 million.  Because of the international popularity of the World Cup, there is a big backlog of summer movies in most overseas markets, so DOPOTA will have to wait its turn to see if it can match the improvement in its domestic performance in the major overseas markets.  Part of Dawn’s improved debut over that of Rise can be attributed to higher ticket prices for 3-D showings that accounted for 36% of Dawn’s total (Rise was 2-D only).

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): July 11-13, 2014
	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens	Avg./ Screen	Total Gross	Wk#
1	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	$73,000,000	3,967	$18,402	$73,000,000	1
2	Transformers: Age of Extinction	$16,500,000	3,913	$4,217	$209,031,000	3
3	Tammy	$12,910,000	3,465	$3,726	$57,354,000	2
4	22 Jump Street	$6,700,000	2,811	$2,383	$171,961,000	5
5	How to Train Your Dragon 2	$5,865,000	2,885	$2,033	$152,068,000	5
6	Earth to Echo	$5,500,000	3,230	$1,703	$24,597,000	2
7	Deliver Us From Evil	$4,700,000	3,049	$1,541	$25,002,000	2
8	Maleficent	$4,169,000	2,077	$2,007	$221,994,000	7
9	Begin Again	$2,935,000	939	$3,126	$5,286,000	3
10	Jersey Boys	$2,510,000	1,968	$1,275	$41,705,000	4

After two weeks at #1, Transformers: Age of Extinction slipped to #2, dropping 56% and earning $16.5 million and bringing its domestic total to $209 million.  Age of Extinction continues to trail its predecessors badly here in the U.S., but it has made up for that shortfall by an improved performance on the world market.
 
Meanwhile Melissa McCarthy’s Tammy fell just 40% in its second weekend as it added nearly $13 million to bring its domestic total to $57.5 million.  Though it is hardly as big a hit as Ms. McCarthy’s recent efforts, this film, which cost just $20 million to produce, won’t lose any money for Warner Bros.
 
Not to diminish the prospects of Sex Tape, which opens next weekend, but it now appears that 22 Jump Street will be the top-grossing "R" rated comedy of the summer.  In its fifth weekend of release it dropped just 32% as it added $6.7 million to bring its domestic total to $172 million.
 
Also in its fifth weekend, Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2 continues show solid legs as it earned an estimated $5.8 million to bring its domestic total to $152 million.
 
Another long-in-the-tooth release, Disney’s Maleficent remained in the top 10 in its seventh weekend as it added $4.1 million to bring its domestic total to $222 million.  It is conceivable that Maleficent will pass X-Men: Days of Future Past ($229 million), though Transformers: Age of Extinction may do it sooner. 
 
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, which was shot with the same cast over 12 years and has earned a ridiculous 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, opened in just 5 theaters and earned a massive $71,800 per venue.  Will this critical darling catch on with mainstream audiences?
 
Check back here next week to see if the "R" rated comedy Sex Tape, the horror movie sequel The Purge: Anarchy, or Disney’s Planes: Fire and Rescue can unseat Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
 
--Tom Flinn