Celtic fans are over the moon after watching Brendan Rodgers’s men blast their way to another Premiership title.
10.05.2024 - 17:57 / variety.com
Todd Gilchrist editor After 10 installments and 56 years, “Planet of the Apes” is one of the longest-running science-fiction series in film history. Even Pierre Boulle, who wrote the novel upon which the 1968 film was based, never imagined a future this long, complicated, or full of talking simians.
Yet “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” released May 10, not only pushes the franchise’s story another 300 years into the future, but sets up what its filmmakers hope is (at least) two more chapters. Following a young chimpanzee named Noa (Owen Teague), director Wes Ball’s sprawling, luxuriant epic examines a time when the balance of power leans confidently on the side of the apes, even as the arrival of a human woman named Mae (Freya Allan) introduces a new complication into the species’ tenuous coexistence.
Both Ball and his producers, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, have lots of experience with multi-year, multi-film sagas. Ball made his explosive directorial debut with the 2014 adaptation of James Dashner’s “The Maze Runner,” and helmed both of its two sequels.
Jaffa and Silver helped relaunch the “Apes” series by writing “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” They’ve remained with the franchise through the years as writers and producers. Ahead of the release of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” Ball, Jaffa and Silver spoke to Variety about franchise filmmaking, explored the complex, sometimes contradictory mythology of the “Apes” films and what’s to come.
Ball also discussed his “Legend of Zelda” video game adaptation and how he’ll juggle that movie plus the two “Apes” sequels that distributor 20th Century Studios has already outlined. Wes, you developed a good relationship with Fox because of the “Maze Runner” movies, but
.Celtic fans are over the moon after watching Brendan Rodgers’s men blast their way to another Premiership title.
Have you ever watched “Game of Thrones” and thought, “Man, I’d love to see a version of this where there are no dragons and cosplayers take the place of kings and queens?” No? Well, HBO hopes you do, as it has a three-part documentary, titled “Ren Faire,” coming your way. In all seriousness, “Ren Faire” is a docuseries about the largest Renaissance festival in the world and the one man who rules over it, an 86-year-old George Coulam.
Naman Ramachandran It was a neck-and-neck battle atop the U.K. and Ireland box office between Paramount’s “IF” and Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.” While Disney’s simian saga won the three-day weekend, Paramount’s Imaginary Friend tale was the winner including previews. “IF” bowed with £2.4 million ($3 million), while in its second weekend, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” grossed £2.1 million ($2.7 million) for a total of £7.6 million ($9.7 million), per numbers from Comscore.
Refresh for latest…: After starting early offshore release on John Krasinski’s IF last weekend, Paramount expanded the imaginary friends film to another 56 international box office markets this session. The overseas frame was worth $20M, bringing the international running cume to $24M. With domestic’s $35M debut, the worldwide total is now $59M.
Todd Gilchrist editor Chronicling the eponymous Navy flight squadron across a season of demonstrations, “The Blue Angels” easily ranks near the top of the many Hollywood films to be considered “military propaganda” for their glowing depiction of the activities of U.S. men and women in uniform.
EXCLUSIVE: Since Warner Bros acquired the rights to make more Middle-earth films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and the canon established by New Line’s original trilogy, Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings cohorts Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens hovered over the proceedings for a long time, as they mulled how to return, and much to involve themselves into another deep dive into Tolkien mythology.
Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.8 million ($4.7 million), according to numbers from Comscore. Universal’s “The Fall Guy” dropped down to second place with £948,970 and now has a running total of £6.7 million.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” isn’t monkeying around. The latest “Apes” entry from 20th Century Studios earned $22.2 million from 4,075 theaters on its opening day, a figure that includes $6.6 million in previews. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is estimated to make between $52 million and $56 million in its debut, which about the same as the last three installments.
EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.
Jordan Moreau SPOILER WARNING: This story contains spoilers for the ending of “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” now playing in theaters. A new decade means a new “Planet of the Apes” trilogy. The “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” ending teases much more story to come, and director Wes Ball has already confirmed there are plans for two more sequels. At that rate, the reboot series, comprised of two trilogies, will surpass the five-movie original series, which ran from 1968 to 1973.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Moviegoers flocking to see “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” in theaters might leave with the same question: What does the cast exactly look like? In the tradition of James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise and the last “Planet of the Apes” trilogy, “Kingdom” director Wes Ball utilized groundbreaking motion capture technology to make sure every ape character in his movie was played by a real human being. Leading star Owen Teague told Variety that he attended six weeks of “ape school” in order to help his transformation into a primate be as believable as possible. He and the rest of the film’s cast worked with a movement teacher to get in touch with their simian sides.
Jordan Moreau It’s all monkey business at the box office. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the latest film in 20th Century Studios’ primate franchise, will rule over the box office this weekend.
Graham Norton has said viewers will see "the Eurovision they know and love" when they tune into the grand final on Saturday night. Irish presenter Norton, 61, will host coverage of the event live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, while Scott Mills and Rylan Clark will lead commentary on BBC Radio 2.
Brooke Shields is stepping out for the premiere of her new Netflix rom-com!
It has been 56 years since “Planet of the Apes,” arguably one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. To see the franchise display such promising growth and evolution almost six decades later is phenomenal and deeply heartening.
Todd Gilchrist editorFor a writer, signing on to “Planet of the Apes” is less an assignment than a calling. After all, it’s the longest-running science-fiction series in film history.
After 2017’s masterful War of the Planet of the Apes, which completed the trilogy that started with 2011’s Rise and 2014’s Dawn and told the epic story of wise leader Caesar and the apes who created this whole new world, I really thought there was nowhere else to go with this franchise that had itself started so brilliantly in 1968 with the original starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut who lands in this futuristic world dominated by intelligent apes. Many other iterations would come, even a side foray by Tim Burton, but it was that most recent trilogy (the first directed by Rupert Wyatt, the final two by Matt Reeves) that really popped. But being box office successes, 20th Century’s new owner Disney knew there was more to be mined, and they were right.
Spoiler Alert: This post contains details of the Vanderpump Rules Season 11 finale, Episode 15 titled “Plot Twist.”
Morgan Freeman, Olivier Marchal and Simone Ashley will be lauded at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in June. Prince Albert II of Monaco will present Freeman with Festival’s Crystal Nymph award.
Jack Dunn The morning of the “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” premiere, stars of the film Peter Macon and Ras-Samuel discovered they were staying at the same hotel while getting breakfast. And when they met eyes from either end of the buffet line, they did not greet each other with a wave or a simple hello, they did so as apes. Embodying their characters, they dropped their shoulders and shuffled together, hooting and panting at the sight of a friend.