Every Planet of the Apes Movie, Ranked

The fifth film in the original Planet of the Apes series, Battle for the Planet of the Apes was a low-budget send-off for a franchise which, according to critics, had run out of gas. After conquering planet Earth, ape leader Caesar tries to make peace and is thwarted by guerilla gorillas and battle-torn mutant human survivors. Prolific British director J. Lee Thompson was brought back after previous installment Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and made Battle for under $2 million, and it grossed nearly $9 million.

The film was followed by a short-lived live-action television series (Planet of the Apes) in 1974 that lasted 14 episodes and Return to the Planet of the Apes, an animated series that lasted 13 episodes. It would be another 28 years until the apes would return to the big screen with Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes. 

"Battle looks like the last gap of a dying series, a movie made simply to wring the dollars out of any remaining ape fans." —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The follow-up to the original 1968 Planet of the Apes sought to expand the Apes universe by going underground and exploring the outer reaches of the irradiated Forbidden Zone. Charlton Heston, the star of the original film, returned in a supporting role, and his original co-star Roddy McDowall was replaced by David Watson as fan favorite learned ape Cornelius. Television and film director Ted Post replaced original director Franklin J. Schaffner, who instead went on to direct Patton (which also used original Apes composer Jerry Goldsmith).

The film was a critical disappointment but managed to make nearly $20 million on a $2.5 million budget.

"Those with the patience to sit through a slow first half will be rewarded with another gutsy ending." —Ian Nathan, Empire

The fourth film in the original franchise, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes deals primarily with the racial overtones featured prominently in the series and with humans enslaving apes. Caesar (the son of Cornelius and played by the same actor, Roddy McDowall) leads an ape revolt in an angry and violent entry in the Apes saga. Ricardo Montalbán also returns as Caesar's surrogate human father, Armando.

Critics had largely grown tired of the series and gave it middling reviews. Audiences were also cooling off, though the film was a modest success, making nearly $10 million worldwide on less than a $2 million budget. 

"Wringing the last drops out of the idea, it strains to stay on-side, but it remains true enough to the spirit of the series to get it over the line." —Sam Toy, Empire

After a 28-year absence (the longest period in between Apes films) and several failed attempts to bring the franchise back, a high-profile reboot arrived in 2001 in the form of Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes. The big-budget remake starred Mark Wahlberg as an astronaut who crashes through a wormhole onto a planet of apes. The eclectic cast also includes Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kris Kristofferson, and Paul Giamatti.

Critics praised the practical makeup from legend Rick Baker, but the film received mixed reviews, with many saying the film didn't match the heights of the 1968 original. The $100 million film was a global smash, making over $360 million, but the troubled and rushed production ensured that another Apes film wouldn't surface for another decade. 

"Planet of the Apes is never quite boring — the movie is constantly giving you something new to look at — but it's still a disappointingly dull and underplotted ride." —Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

After the Caesar trilogy ended with 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes, the series jumps 300 years into the future where humans have returned to a more primitive state even as apes have risen to dominance. A young ape, Noa (Owen Teague) begins to question the potentially distorted teachings of his elders and grows sympathetic to the humans. The Maze Runner series director (and future The Legend of Zelda helmer) Wes Ball takes over for Matt Reeves (The Batman 2).

The concept and CGI make up for the lack of starpower this time, and critics are indeed impressed by the visuals, though some think that Kingdom is less successful in retaining the most recent Apes film's mix of intelligence and action. 

"After 55 years of different directions, this is far from the most exciting Planet of the Apes has been, but it's also far from the worst, and I'm open to seeing wherever this leads." —Trace Sauveur, Paste

The most recent Planet of the Apes reboot series began with 2011's surprising success of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The practical makeup of the original series was replaced with critically praised motion-capture CGI effects and the incredible performance by Andy Serkis as chimpanzee Caesar, who gains intelligence through genetic engineering and quickly resents his human captors for experimenting on and imprisoning his fellow apes. Constantly besieged movie city San Francisco becomes ground zero for a new ape uprising.

The film earned nearly half a billion dollars at the global box office; the Planet of the Apes franchise was back! 

"Whereas the original was a work of speculative science fiction—a chin-stroking fable about evolution in the nuclear age—this revisiting of the Planet of the Apes myth is an animal-rights manifesto disguised as a prison-break movie." —Dana Stevens, Slate

Somewhat flippantly referred to as the one good sequel to the original Planet of the Apes by many fans and critics alike, Escape From the Planet of the Apes is the third film in the original series and has apes Cornelius (Roddy McDowall returning after his absence in the second film) and Zira (Kim Hunter) fleeing Earth's explosion using Taylor's spaceship from the first film. Naturally, they are sent through a time warp to 1973 Earth, where they are feared and persecuted.

Critics were delighted with the time-travel twist and audiences responded in kind, with the film making over $12 million on a reported $2 million budget. 

"Nobody is going to believe it, but I must say anyway that Don Taylor's Escape From the Planet of the Apes is one of the better new movies in town, and better in a genre—science-fiction—that at the crucial middle level where the history of movies is made, if not written, has recently been not so much bad as invisible." —Roger Greenspun, The New York Times

Following his Let the Right One In remake Let Me In, director Matt Reeves was brought on to take over the Apes franchise after scheduling issues saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt depart. The new film took place approximately 10 years after Rise; as the human population dwindled after a (trigger alert!) global pandemic, relations with the rising population of intelligent apes become increasingly fragile. Andy Serkis returned as Caesar and the new cast was stacked, with Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, and Kodi Smit-McPhee joining the human resistance.

Dawn was lauded for its massive scale, intense performances, and moral complexity. This was the most expensive Apes movie to date, with a reported $170 million budget. But it was also the most financially successful, with over $710 million earned globally. 

"'Dawn' is more than a bunch of occasionally thrilling action sequences, emotional gut punches, and throwaway jokes arranged in predictable sequence. It is technically impressive and viscerally exciting, for sure, but it also gives you a lot to think, and even to care, about." —A.O. Scott, The New York Times

The iconic film that started it all was adapted from Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel by Michael Wilson and The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling, and was directed by television/film legend Franklin J. Schaffner (Patton). A crew of astronauts that includes Charlton Heston's Taylor crash land on a planet ruled by intelligent apes who oppress and enslave human inhabitants.

Critics found a lot to appreciate in the film, including its racial allegorical overtones, strong performances, landmark makeup, and its rousing Jerry Goldsmith score. The classic science-fiction adventure (released the same year as 2001: A Space Odyssey) has had a lasting impact on pop culture ever since, even being parodied several times on The Simpsons and in films like Spaceballs. 

"This is one of the most entertaining science-fiction fantasies ever to come out of Hollywood." —Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

After the massive success of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, director Matt Reeves returned for Caesar's final chapter. Set a few years after the Bay Area battle that concluded the previous film, War for the Planet of the Apes does include cutting-edge visual effects and spectacle, but it is also a nuanced character study about the ravages of war on both humanity and apes. Woody Harrelson joins the cast as the human leader of a militia hunting the apes.

The film was lauded by critics for being a rare summer movie that mixed complex drama with thrilling setpieces. But at the box office War was softer than its predecessor, making close to $500 million on a reported $150 million budget, which was likely due to robust competition including Spider-Man: Homecoming and Transformers: The Last Knight. 

"War for the Planet of the Apes may have the body of an action film, but it has the soul of an art-house drama and the brains of a political thriller." —Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post