Well, that settles it -- America loves monkeys! Well, much more than they love Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman and poop jokes. So let's welcome our new simian masters and celebrate what this weekend's box office numbers mean: A) Apes > everything, B) R-rated comedies have to try harder, and C) so do Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig if they want to take back the crown from those damn, dirty Smurfs. Your weekend box office is here!
1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Gross: $54,000,000 (new)
Screens: 3,648 (PSA: $14,803)
Weeks: 1
Akin to last weekend's surprising Smurfs vs. Cowboys & Aliens shake-up, Fox's primate reboot proved a surprising contender, handily beating the R-rated (and abysmally-reviewed) star-driven The Change-Up. Whether from strong word of mouth -- especially where Andy Serkis's mo-capped, maybe Oscar-worthy performance was concerned -- or the yearning for a good, old-fashioned summer action yarn, Rise of the Planet of the Apes exceeded pundit expectations, raking in $19.75M on Friday alone. Does this mean the Apes could rise again and effectively reboot a new franchise series? Our guess: Battle of the Conquest of the Return to the Planet of the Apes, coming to you in 2013.
2. The Smurfs
Gross: $21,000,000 ($76,202,000)
Screens: 3,395 (PSA: $6,186)
Weeks: 2 (change: -41.0%)
Cowboys & Aliens may have won last weekend's box office by a nose, but The Smurfs got their revenge on Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in their second week, pulling ahead in the epic, storied struggle between Smurfkind and James Bond/Indiana Jones with a $21M showing. That brings Peyo's little blue creations to a Smurfy $76.6M domestic cume, compared to C&A's $67.3M.
3. Cowboys & Aliens
Gross: $15,748,000 ($67,368,000)
Screens: 3,754 (PSA: $4,195)
Weeks: 2 (change: -56.8%)
Jon Favreau's genre-blender suffered the biggest drop from Week 1 -- but maybe that's what you get for beheading Papa Smurf on television (Looking at you, Harrison), a little box office karma coming right back 'round. Or maybe America wised up and considered Movieline's handy flow chart, finding that more roads pointed to seeing The Smurfs. Either way, C&A's still got the international markets to open, and Harrison's huge in Japan. A round of Kirin Lager beer for everyone!
4. The Change-Up
Gross: $13,502,000 (new)
Screens: 2,913 (PSA: $4,635)
Weeks: 1
Let this be a lesson to Hollywood: Poop jokes and Ryan Reynolds' abs aren't enough to open a movie. Failing to open in the summer of Bridesmaids, The Hangover Part II, and Bad Teacher (while making less than half of what Friends with Benefits did in its first weekend, no less), tells you that much. And what's with using so much CGI nudity in an R-rated comedy?? The Change-Up should come and go like a blip on the summer movie schedule, proving that even in the summer of the adult comedy movies have to have something to offer.
5. Captain America: The First Avenger
Gross: $13,000,000 ($143,182,000)
Screens: 3,620 (PSA: $3,591)
Weeks: 3 (change: -49.1%)
A 49.1% drop from last week didn't help Captain America in its box office competition with fellow Marvel superhero pic Thor (Captain_ came in just $2.2M under Thor's week three numbers) but don't lose faith, America! With $100.3M notched so far, Cap's foreign allies are picking up the slack.
[Numbers via Box Office Mojo]