Rise of the Planet of the Apes

CHICAGO – For the first time since the end of July, the number one film at the box office this past weekend was not titled “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” After two weeks at the top, the primates were beat out by the comedy/drama “The Help.”

CHICAGO – For the second weekend in a row, a rarity in the summer of 2011, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” came in at number one at the box office with $27.8 million. Positive word-of-mouth and a serious lack of viable competition pushed the suprising hit to #1 at the box office for the second weekend in a row.

CHICAGO – In one of the biggest surprises this summer has seen, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” led this past weekend’s box office with an impressive $54.8 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. The action packed primate adventure was good enough for the fifth highest August opening weekend of all time.

CHICAGO – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is spectacular entertainment, a perfect capper to the blockbuster season that is arguably the most purely enjoyable film of the warmer months of 2011. Rupert Wyatt’s highly-anticipated prequel is an old-fashioned piece of sci-fi escapism made with some of the revolutionary new toys available to special effects artists.

CHICAGO – In our latest action/drama/sci-fi edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two advance-screening passes up for grabs to the early Chicago screening of the new film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” starring James Franco!

CHICAGO – It’s the most wonderful time of the year as moviegoers shake off the doldrums of winter weather, awards season snoozers, and a truly horrendous first trimester of 2011 and finally get to see something blow up for their hard-earned dollars. There’s something about the warm months of the year that allows for critical faculties to fall away as we relax and simply embrace cinematic chaos. What will we get out of Summer 2011? What are the movies that look the most promising? Let us guide the way.