This box-office weekend was a bit of a surprise in a more ways than one. First up, Rise of the Planet of the Apes grossed an estimated $54.0 million domestically thanks in part to some fantastic CGI (very impressive on a $92 million budget) and a 81% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and despite an utter lack of James Franco performance art. In fact, this was a very non-Franco movie in that it was a blockbuster (which we haven’t seen from him since the Spider-Man movies), and there’s not a damn thing wrong with that fact. Seriously, if Franco would just admit, “Yeah, I occasionally make popcorn movies so that I can finance all of my Ivy League schooling and ridiculous performance art,” we’d all probably like him a lot better, right? But no. In fact, Franco gave an interview to Playboy in which he tried to prepare the public that this movie could (in his mind, unlike his other movies) very well suck terribly despite his elevating presence.

What occurred was the precisely opposite, for Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a an immensely enjoyable movie (I liked it too) despite the presence of Franco, who was playing the straight man with less life than a paper doll. Pajiba gave the film a positive review while also penning the following assessment: “Franco is in stoic Oscar-hosting mode, and though he’s onscreen for most of the film, you never develop much feeling for his character.” Ouch. And yes, Kaiser recently called out Franco’s douchey ways that don’t quite match up to an actor who supposedly “lives, breathes, kills, poops and dies for art.” If Franco is such an incredible artist, you know, he could’ve given much better than his flat, lifeless performance in this movie. In fact, I generally do like Franco as an actor, but I don’t like that his attitude in non-artsy endeavors is such that this film would’ve been better off if it had hired an actor who actually wanted to be there.

Meanwhile, The Smurfs continued its inexplicable reign by adding another $21.0 million for a domestic total of $76.2 million; and Cowboys & Aliens shamefacedly follows the little blue people with another $15.7 million for a total domestic take of $67.4 million. Ordinarily, that would be great news for a couple of summer pics in their second weekend, but Cowboys is hurting a lot due to its $200 budget and failure to meet very high expectations for a movie starring the current James Bond and directed by the helmer of Iron Man.

In huge upset news, the body switching comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman, The Change-Up, opened to a measly $13.5 million. This result is definitely cause for concern where gerbil-faced boy is concerned, and we are not experiencing the summer of Reynolds that was projected, for his presence as a leading man in Green Lantern only resulted in a $53.2 million opening weekend, which was at least $10 million below both the Thor and Captain America openers. While Green Lantern went on to a $160 million worldwide total, that doesn’t scratch the $200 million budget (plus promotional expenses). It goes without saying that the box office totals for Lantern cannot even be properly credited to any star power on Reynolds’ behalf, for the vast majority of people that bought tickets were fans of the comic. Certainly, Reynolds’ name on the marquee brought nothing additional to the table.

Meanwhile, Captain America: The First Avenger picked up another $13.0 million for a $143.2 million domestic total and a $246.2 million worldwide take. In other words, there will be a sequel and much more therapy for Chris Evans and his waxed-up nips. No complaints in that department, right?

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