Apes Rise To No. 1 Weekend With $54 Million

FIRST PUBLISHED: August 7, 2011 1:10 PM EDT LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Apes have climbed to the top rung of the weekend box office. According to studio estimates Sunday, Rise of the Planet of the Apes took in $54 million to open as the No. 1 movie. That was more than analysts expected for the Apes prequel, though well below the $68.5 million opening of Tim Burtons Planet of the Apes remake 10 years ago. The family tale The Smurfs remained at No. 2 for the second-straight weekend with $21 million, lifting its domestic total to $76.2 million. The sci-fi Western Cowboys&Aliens, which debuted at No. 1 narrowly ahead of The Smurfs a week earlier, fell to third with $15.8 million, raising its total to $67.4 million. The comedy The Change-Up opened a weak No. 4 with $13.5 million. Copyright 2011 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.