The Apes Have Taken Over The World (And This Weekend's Box Office)

It’s time for the most highly anticipated part of the weekend – for studios, anyway – the box office roundup! Excited yet? Well, neither were movie-goers this week. Apocalyptic sci-fi prequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes won this week’s race with $36 million on its second weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. That counts as a 50% drop from its debut, but the Fox sequel had no trouble staying on top over horror sequel The Purge: Anarchy and the Cameron Diaz comedy Sex Tape, which is currently bombing in both reviews and earnings.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dawn is holding up at the box office in its sexond weekend.

The Purge: Anarchy made a respectable $28 million. In fact, this counts as the best horror opening of the year. However, compared to its predecessor, which premiered in June last year with $34 million. It’s a predictable drop and, with a $9 million investment, Anarchy is still paying off for Universal.

More: Sex Tape, One Of The 2014's Worst Movies, Opens Soft At Box Office

Watch the trailer for The Purge: Anarchy below.

The Cars spinoff Planes: Fire & Rescue (exactly what it sounds like) took $27 million over the three day period.

And then there is Sex Tape. The R-rated comedy bombed in reviews and had a disappointing weekend to match with $25 million. The movie is the latest offering from Bad Teacher director.Sex Tape enjoyed a decent opening in Australia, earning $2.4 million. All in all, the movie debuted in nine foreign territories over the weekend for a total $3 million.