Weekend Box Office: 'Apes' Rise, 'Change-Up' Sinks

The run of summer blockbusters is just about over, but the box office had one more surprise to throw at us before the big-budget heavy hitters went in hibernation until next year. The question was which, if either, of the weekend's two openers would perform: the sci-fi actioner of a long-lost franchise, or the R-rated comedy following in the foosteps of other huge summer hits?

As it turns out, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" had a bit more interest than even the most positive predictors thought. While the movie was expected to earn only about $30 to $35 million, tops, instead it soared to a surprising $54 million weekend, taking first place with ease.

Considering the "Apes" franchise hasn't had a decent installment since 1970, you have to wonder what made a new, younger audience want to go see it. Fantastic special effects and action were likely a big part of it, as the all-CGI apes (with masterful motion and face-capture work by Andy Serkis) look as real as can be. The movie also received solid reviews from critics and great word-of-mouth, and could be poised for another big haul next weekend.

In second was family film "The Smurfs" which, despite awful reviews (about 20% on Rotten Tomatoes), only fell 41% to bring in another $21 million. That separated it from "Cowboys and Aliens," with which it had been more or less tied in their opening weekend. "Cowboys" only pulled in $16.8M, putting it in third place.

You may be wondering at this point what on earth happened to "The Change-Up"...well, here it is, down in fourth place. The Jason Bateman - Ryan Reynolds body switch comedy only drew in $14 million, making it the second Reynolds movie this summer to flop unexpectedly (poor "Green Lantern").

The failure of "The Change-Up" is a bit surprising: after all, just about every other R-rated comedy this summer has done very well, from "The Hangover: Part II" to "Bridesmaids" to "Horrible Bosses." Reviews for "The Change-Up" are considerably worse, however, and it's possible that the string of R-rated comedies behind it hurt more than helped. Perhaps audiences were just tired of all the off-color jokes.

Coming in fifth place was "Captain America: The First Avenger," which drew another $13.5 million for a cumulative domestic total of $143.7M. Also worth noting is "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" which almost made the list with $12.5 million, which brings its cume to $342.6 mil over four weeks.

1. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" - $54 million
2. "The Smurfs" - $21 million
3. "Cowboys and Aliens" - $16.8 million
4. "The Change-Up" - $14 million
5. "Captain America: The First Avenger" - $13.5 million