Walt Disney : ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Reigns Over the Box Office with $131…

A new Kingdom reigned over the box office this weekend.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - the latest chapter in the iconic Planet of the Apes franchise - took the No. 1 spot with an estimated $58.5 million opening at the domestic box office this weekend, exceeding industry expectations.

This is the seco^nd biggest domestic opening in the current Apes series and the biggest opening of director Wes Ball's career.

The film - which stars Freya Allan, Owen Teague, and Kevin Durand - was a hit around the world notching $131.2 million worldwide for its debut.

"It is a great result - a testament to the quality of the movie, the love and affinity for the franchise and it is a great way to kick-start the summer box office," commented Tony Chambers, EVP of Theatrical Distribution.

Kingdom follows three groundbreaking films (2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes), which have brought in a combined $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office. It also acts as a "kind of a prequel and a sequel" in that it falls after the last three films, but before the events of the 1968 classic, according to Ball.

"We gave it a new spirit, a new character, a younger character, who's going to rediscover a world with us as the audience," Ball said.

The new film - which takes place many generations after War and tells the story of a young ape's harrowing journey across a new empire - was also a hit with critics.

Kingdom is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with critics praising its innovative special effects, scale, and cinematic beauty while proclaiming it one of the best editions in the franchise.

"This movie is built for that great collective dream that we all enter when we go to a theater together. It's meant to be big," Ball said. "You want to immerse yourself in this world that is just incredibly rich and visual."