‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Screening Went Over Very Poorly: “It’s A Stinker”

In 2014, it started with a simple “NO!”, but the apes now have a firmer grasp of the English language. Wes Ball’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” taking place a few generations after the last one, is a continuation of the previous trilogy, which peaked with Matt Reeves’ 2017 blockbuster “War for the Planet of the Apes.”

Jeff Sneider is reporting that ‘Kingdom’ had a test screening in Burbank, California just a few weeks ago and that the overall consensus was not good:

Disney had a test screening of Apes recently and my sources tell me it went over very poorly. I heard the movie is a stinker.

Matt Reeves did an admirable job directing 2017’s “War For the Planet of the Apes,” that was the very best one of the last trilogy of films. We didn’t need anymore of these, but we’re being given another one in the form of ‘Kingdom.’

Automatic red flag: Reeves isn’t back in the director’s chair. In this latest one, Reeves is replaced by Wes Ball, whose claim to fame is the tepid ‘Maze Runner’ trilogy. Given his track record, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sneider’s intel turns out to be true and Ball hasn’t deliver the goods here.

‘Kingdom’ takes place “years” after the events of “War for the Planet of the Apes”, with many ape clans having emerged in the oasis to which Caesar led his fellow apes, while humans have regressed into a “feral state”. The apes take the teachings of Caesar to enslave other clans in search of the last traces of a secret human technology. There’s also a subplot about another ape embarking on a journey to find freedom alongside a human girl

Starring in this latest ‘Apes’ movie are William H. Macy, Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Peter Macon, Eka Darville, Dichen Lachman and Kevin Durand “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is set to open in theaters on May 24th, 2024.

20th Century Studios and Disney released the first full-length trailer for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” this past Sunday during the Super Bowl.

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