Planet of the Apes

American science fiction media franchise

Planet of the Apes is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of movies, books, television series, comics, and other media about a post-apocalyptic world in which humans and smart apes fight for control as the lead species.[1] The franchise started with French author Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel La Planète des singes. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, the novel's first movie adaptation was the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes, which was followed four sequels: Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).

Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes logo
Franchise logo
Created byPierre Boulle
Original workLa Planète des singes (1963)
Owner20th Century Studios
Years1963–present
Print publications
Book(s)List of books
Novel(s)La Planète des singes (1963)
ComicsList of comics
Movies and television
Television seriesPlanet of the Apes (1974)
Animated seriesReturn to the Planet of the Apes (1975–1976)
Games
Video game(s)

While the development of another movie was paused, a live-action television series was released in 1974 and an animated series was released in 1975. The next movie ended up being Planet of the Apes (2001), a remake of the first movie directed by Tim Burton. The movie's sequel was canceled and a rebooted series later began in 2011, with the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011). Two sequels, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, were released in 2014 and 2017, respectively. When Disney bought Fox in 2019, plans for another movie started. The fourth part of the rebooted series, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, was released in 2024. Five more movies are in development.[2]

Planet of the Apes has totally made more than $2 billion around the world, against a combined budget of $567.5 million. As a whole, the franchise has gotten mostly positive reviews, especially the original movie and the rebooted series. It is the oldest science fiction movie franchise to still release movies.[3]

Movies

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Number Title Release date Director Continuity
1 Planet of the Apes April 3, 1968 Franklin J. Schaffner Original series
2 Beneath the Planet of the Apes May 27, 1970 Ted Post
3 Escape from the Planet of the Apes May 21, 1971 Don Taylor
4 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes June 29, 1972 J. Lee Thompson
5 Battle for the Planet of the Apes June 15, 1973
6 Planet of the Apes July 27, 2001 Tim Burton Remake
7 Rise of the Planet of the Apes August 5, 2011 Rupert Wyatt Reboot series
8 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes July 11, 2014 Matt Reeves
9 War for the Planet of the Apes July 14, 2017
10 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes May 10, 2024 Wes Ball

Reception

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  1. Bouie, Jamelle (2024-05-18). "Opinion | The Underappreciated Genius of 'Planet of the Apes'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  2. Couch, Aaron (2024-05-10). "Hollywood's Franchise Power Couple". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  3. Gilchrist, Todd (2024-05-08). "'Planet of the Apes' Timeline Explained, From the 1968 Original to 'Kingdom'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-06-07.