Can 'Spider-Man' Hold Off 'Apes' This Weekend?
by EG
A battle is shaping up at the North American box office.
On Friday, the critically acclaimed War for the Planet of the Apes, the final installment in 20th Century Fox's refurbished trilogy, opens everywhere in North America. Prerelease tracking suggests the tentpole will launch to $55 million or more, but that might not be enough to beat holdover Spider-Man: Homecoming.
If Sony and Marvel Studios' Spider-Man reboot falls only 50 percent in its sophomore outing, that means a weekend tally of $58.5 million. But if it declines 55 percent or more, it will land in the low $50 million range.
Amid a summer strewn with tentpoles panned by critics before disappointing at the domestic box office, Apes and Spider-Man both boast the identical certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, or a stellar 93 percent. That's slightly ahead of Wonder Woman (92 percent) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the other two summer tentpoles bronzed by glowing reviews.
The latest Apes installment, costing $150 million to produce before marketing, sees Matt Reeves once again sitting in the director's chair after helming sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which debuted to $72.6 million domestically in July 2014. Rupert Wyatt directed the first title in the trilogy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. That film bowed to $54.8 million in August 2011.
Read the rest of this article at The Hollywood Reporter.
Also new this week are Wish Upon and The Big Sick.