Box Office Update: 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Overperforms With $18 Mil Friday

Exceeding all expectations, 20th Century Fox's Rise of the Planet of the Apes was on course to gross $18 million on Friday in a sizeable start for the origins pic.our editor recommendsRise of the Planet of the Apes: Film ReviewThe Change-Up: Film ReviewCowboys & Aliens: Film ReviewThe Smurfs: Film Review The opening day performance means the movie -- headlining Andy Serkis as the ape Casesar -- should open in the mid $40 million range at the domestic box office, successfully relaunching the classic sci-fi franchise. PHOTOS: 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes': The Many Faces of Andy Serkis Rise of the Apes was playing well across the country, including among various ethnic groups. Directed by Rupert Wyatt and also starring James Franco, Freida Pinto and John Lithgow is drawing rave reviews, particularly for the photo-realistic apes, which were created by Peter Jackson's Weta Digital using advanced performance capture technology. VIDEO: 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes': A Film Evolution Moviegoers agreed with critics in liking the movie, and gave it an A- CinemaScore, according to Friday night exit polls. Tracking had been soft among women, but interest picked up noticeably late this week. It showed at Friday's box office, with females making up 44% of the audience. The movie skewed older, with 59% of the audience over the age of 25. The film, made for $93 million, was produced by Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark's Chernin Enertainment and co-financed by Fox, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious. PHOTOS: Summer Movie Guide Rise of the Apes earned $1.3 million in midnight runs, nearly double the $700,000 earned in midnight grosses last week by Cowboys & Aliens. Elsewhere at the domestic box office, Universal's R-rated body switching comedy The Change-Up, starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, underperformed, grossing around $4.5 million. Directed by David Dobkin, the comedy is expected to only open in the low to mid teens for the weekend. PHOTOS: New Generation of Superheroes Sony's holdover The Smurfs remained a strong contender, coming in No. 2 for the day and grossing an estimated $5.7 million. Universal and DreamWorks' Cowboys & Aliens tumbled more than 60%, grossing roughly $4.7 million, although it's possible Change-Up could pull ahead of Cowboys once final Friday numbers are calculated. Related Topics Freida Pinto James Franco Box Office Rise of the Planet of the Apes