Horror fans are also well-catered for, thanks to the likes of Blumhouse’s Imaginary and Cineverse’sTerrifier 3. There’s a bunch of more kid-friendly fare on the way too, includingKung Fu Panda 4.
That’s right: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is dropping early. PerVariety, Disney is bumping up the sequel’s debut from May 24 to May 10.
Bringing Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ release date forward two weeks should boost the sci-fi epic’s box office prospects. Its original May 24 scheduling would’ve pitted it against Furiosa andThe Garfield Movie, both of which could’ve eaten into the ape-led extravaganza’s earnings.
By contrast, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ only real competition on May 10 is Focus Features’ Amy Winehouse biopicBack to Black. This is a safer bet for Disney, given the seemingly smaller amount of overlap between these two films’ target audiences.
It’s hardly surprising that Disney isn’t taking any risks with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, given the franchise’s multi-year absence from theaters. The last entry in the rebooted franchise, War for the Planet of the Apes, came out seven years ago – an eternity in the movie business.
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Set almost 300 years after its predecessor, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apeschronicles the exploitsof chimpanzee, Noa (Owen Teague), and feral human Mae (Freya Allan). The unlikely pair’s adventures will bring them up against Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), the ape society’s corrupt leader.
Director Wes Ball is calling the shots this time around, and he’s already received former series leadAndy Serkis’ blessing. “Wes Ball is going to do an amazing job with this film… where they’ve chosen to land the story and take off with the next iteration, I think it’s gonna blow people’s minds,” he said.
Leon is a freelance Movies and TV writer at Dexerto. His past writing credits include articles for Polygon, Popverse, The Escapist, Screen Rant, CBR, Cultured Vultures, PanelxPanel, Taste of Cinema, and more. Originally from Australia, Leon is currently based in the UK.
