Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ends its theatrical run after earning a decent box office haul. The film debuted with surprisingly impressive results and kept its momentum during the onset of the summer blockbuster season.
For an action science-fiction movie, it did a pretty great job of attracting viewers even with the possibility of being compared to its predecessors. After all, the Planet of the Apes is a popular and long-enduring franchise that dates back all the way to 1968.
Wes Ball Reveals Possibility Of Making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Sequel
While speaking with TheWrap, director Wes Ball confessed to having initial apprehension towards helming a standalone sequel because he didn’t want his work to be seen as a rival to the previous films.
“I had this skepticism of how you follow up that last trilogy,” he stated. “You need to have that distance so you’re not just constantly compared or tethered to that trilogy,” the director argued before claiming the time jump was a big opening for him.
With the mild success of the movie, fans will be wondering if Ball is still pursuing a new trilogy. While he didn’t confirm in his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker keeps his options open.
We’ll see if that’s going to be possible or not. It really depends on how well this movie does, but I’ve tried not to put too many eggs in that basket, so we’ll see how it goes.
He still has his hands full after working on the Apes movie since he is committed to a couple of other projects, including the live-action The Legend of Zelda movie for Nintendo. However, this doesn’t seem to be the only possible hindrance to making a sequel.
Box Office Mojo reported that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes grossed over $397 million in ticket sales against a budget of $160 million. It ranks as the lowest-grossing installment in the Apes franchise, and this news might snuff out any chance of getting a follow-up film.
Fans Shared Opinions On The Potential Sequel
On Twitter, fans discussed the movie’s box office results and the possibility of a sequel. Some believed if it gets another shot, they might have to go lower on the budget department, while others argued the film deserved more appreciation.
With a 160M budget then that means this film would've just broke even or made very small profit.
— Bio (@ZoieNolan) August 4, 2024
If a sequel is ever greenlit, it's for sure going to have a much smaller budget. Probably in the 80-100M range.
Damn so close to 400M SO CLOSE but regardless I think it was moderate success overall. If a sequel happens the budget will probably be lowered.
— O.Akinfenwa (@o_akinfenwa) August 3, 2024
I hope that it made enough money to warrant a sequel. I really liked it. Maybe it will get more popular while it’s on streaming and that will warrant a sequel, resulting in a bigger box office the next time. Kind of like how Rise was so good that Dawn made way more money
— Josh D (@joshldennison) August 4, 2024
The movie needed to make 400m – 480m.
— Jan the Raccoon (@Mapache78256497) August 4, 2024
That Hurts.
I Hope the Home-Media sells save the movies and gives us a Sequel.#KingdomOfThePlanetOfTheApes
So, net profit is $70M, not including cuts from theaters and distributors. This is quite good in a post-pandemic world. I'm sure it would have been higher if it was released in 2019, but this shows that the Apes’ movies still generate interest.
— Sigfried (@JeremyKnowls) August 4, 2024
It remains to be seen what course Wes Ball would take concerning the beloved franchise, although fans can take solace in the fact that he’s keeping the door ajar for possibilities.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now streaming on Hulu.