“The Purge: Anarchy” might have won the Friday race, but it could not hold onto its lead for the duration of the weekend.
As a result, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” wins a second consecutive weekend at the box office. The film earned an estimated $36.0 million between July 18-20, which topped the $28.4 million earned by “The Purge.”
After two weekends, “Dawn” owns a cumulative domestic gross of $139.0 million. By this time in its 2011 run, predecessor “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” had only earned $105.2 million.
“Anarchy,” meanwhile, got off to a weaker start than last year’s “The Purge.” That film, which launched in June 2013, earned $34.1 million in its first weekend.
New releases “Planes: Fire and Rescue” (#3) and “Sex Tape” (#4) followed with modest hauls of $18.0 million and $15.0 million, respectively.
“Transformers: Age of Extinction” landed in fifth with $10.0 million.