Things were looking slightly better at the box office this weekend with a return to the blockbuster sequels that tend to be reliable moneymakers. That was certainly the case with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox), directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell and more, which topped the domestic box office with an estimated $73 million this weekend in 3,967 theaters. Averaging 18.4 thousand per theater, that opening was 33% higher than the previous installment of the sci-fi franchise, 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the sequel is looking to become the next movie to gross $200 million this summer with a strong A- CinemaScore.
Unfortunately, Sinister director Scott Derrickson’s horror thriller Deliver Us From Evil (Screen Gems/Sony), starring Eric Bana, took a bit plunge with a 52% drop-off from fourth to seventh place. Its $4.7 million second weekend brought its total to $25 million, still short of its $30 million production budget.
