One of the 21st Century’s Best Sci-Fi Franchises Dominates Streaming, With Two Masterpieces at #1 & #2

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The 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes unexpectedly became a major hit, reviving the classic sci-fi series. Andy Serkis’ powerful portrayal of Caesar the chimpanzee was central to its success. The film earned $481.8 million worldwide on a $93 million budget and positive reviews, launching a trilogy that consistently improved with each installment. Both Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes were critically and commercially successful blockbusters, praised for their cutting-edge visual effects and engaging stories. Now, the Planet of the Apes films continue to be popular with viewers on streaming services.

According to streaming data from FlixPatrol, the Planet of the Apes films are currently very popular on HBO Max. War for the Planet of the Apes is the most-watched movie, followed closely by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in second place. Both films are significantly more popular than Jurassic World Rebirth, according to FlixPatrol’s rankings.

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The recent Planet of the Apes films have been a huge success, and it all started with the excellent Rise of the Planet of the Apes. However, the sequels, particularly Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, took the series to another level. Many fans believe Dawn is the strongest film in the series, largely thanks to Toby Kebbell’s incredible performance as Koba. Koba is a truly memorable villain – he’s both frightening and, because of his difficult past, surprisingly sympathetic. His contrasting perspective to Caesar’s added significant complexity and depth to the story.

With War for the Planet of the Apes, the story of Caesar reached a powerful and moving conclusion. The film delivers a gritty and realistic war experience, showing the desperate struggle for survival faced by both humans and apes in a world undergoing massive change. Andy Serkis is, once again, brilliant as Caesar, and Woody Harrelson gives a compelling performance as The Colonel. While perhaps not as impactful as Andy Kebbell’s portrayal of Koba, The Colonel is a fascinating villain that highlights what makes the Planet of the Apes films so strong. Importantly, the movies consistently avoided portraying humans as simply evil; even with flawed approaches, the characters’ motivations were always understandable.

As a huge fan of the Planet of the Apes series, I was really curious about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes after War for the Planet of the Apes. It’s a sort of continuation set way, way in the future, where the apes are now firmly in charge. While I missed Andy Serkis as Caesar, I thought Kingdom was a great addition to the series – it had a really compelling story and characters, especially Noa, the new lead, and the intriguing villain, Proximus Caesar. It genuinely felt like the start of something new for the franchise. They announced a sequel a while back, but honestly, we haven’t heard much about it since, which is a little frustrating.

In October 2024, 20th Century Studios announced they were working on a new Planet of the Apes movie, with a planned release in 2027. With that date approaching, time is tight. These films are complicated to make, requiring a lot of special effects to bring the ape characters to life. Because the previous movies were so well-received, the filmmakers want to ensure the Kingdom sequel is high quality and doesn’t feel rushed. Hopefully, we’ll see positive progress on the next film this year. Kingdom proved there are still compelling stories to tell within the Planet of the Apes universe, and audiences are clearly still interested.

In the U.S., you can watch War for the Planet of the Apes on HBO Max and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is available on Hulu. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is also streaming on HBO Max in some countries outside the U.S.

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2026-03-13 17:10