‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Scores $6.6 Million From Thursday Box Office

Disney/20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is launching on 4,075 screens this weekend and got off to a good start at the Thursday box office with $6.6 million grossed.

That total tops the $5 million earned by the film’s 2017 predecessor, “War for the Planet of the Apes” before opening to $56.2 million. “Kingdom” is projected by trackers to earn an opening weekend of at least $50 million amid positive reviews, holding an 82% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Matching the $490 million global run of “War” is the baseline of success for “Kingdom,” with hopes that the film can reach greater box office heights if it can draw in moviegoers who aren’t familiar with the previous installments of the series. Set generations after the events of 20th Century Fox’s reboot trilogy, “Kingdom” has been marketed by Disney as a jumping-on point for newcomers.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” follows Noa (Owen Teague), a young ape who must go on a journey to rescue his clan after they are enslaved by a warlord named Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). He takes his name from the hero of the original “Apes” trilogy who liberated his kind after a virus that destroyed humanity gave him intelligence.

Along the way, Noa encounters a human named Mae (Freya Allan), with whom he forms an uneasy alliance that could affect the future of both humans and apes. Wes Ball directed the film with Peter Macon and William H. Macy also starring.

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