LOS ANGELES (AP) — Apes have climbed to the top rung of the weekend box office.

The 20th Century Fox action thriller Rise of the Planet of the Apes took in $54 million to open as the No 1 movie, according to studio estimates.

That was about $15 million to $20 million more than analysts expected for the Apes prequel, though well below the $68.5 million opening of Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes remake 10 years ago.

Featuring James Franco, Freida Pinto and Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes tells the story of how lower primates began evolving to take over Earth from humans.

The film was well received by critics, who found it a smarter-than-average summer action flick. Its impressive visual effects rely on performances from Serkis and other actors as the foundation for photo-realistic apes created by digital artists.

“I think the reviews highlight the groundbreaking nature of this movie. When you have effects that have never been seen before, people respond to that. They know they have to be seen to be believed,” said Fox distribution executive Chris Aronson. “The technology is actually servicing a really good, strong, emotional story.”

Sony’s family tale The Smurfs remained at No 2 for the second straight weekend with $21 million, lifting its domestic total to $76.2 million.

Universal’s sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens, which debuted at No 1 a week earlier, narrowly ahead of The Smurfs, fell to third with $15.8 million, raising its total to $67.4 million.

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman’s comedy The Change-Up, also from Universal, opened a weak No 4 with $13.5 million. The movie centres on two old friends — a successful but frazzled attorney and family man, and a womanising slacker — who magically trade bodies.

With $12.2 million domestically and $61.8 million overseas, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 raised its worldwide total to $1.13 billion. In the past week, it became this year’s top-grossing global release, passing the $1.04 billion haul of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes added $23.4 million in 25 overseas markets, among them Russia, Spain and Australia. That gives it a worldwide total of $77.4 million, with the film expanding to more countries over the next few weeks.

Overall, Hollywood has been doing something right the last month. This was the fourth-straight weekend of rising revenues, with receipts totaling $164 million, up 23 per cent from the same weekend last year, when The Other Guys led with $35.5 million.

That has helped Hollywood continue to nibble down a revenue deficit compared with 2010’s ticket sales. In the spring, 2011 domestic revenues were lagging as much as 23 per cent behind last year’s. But a solid summer has pushed receipts up to $6.7 billion so far this year, 4.8 per cent less than 2010’s income, according to Hollywood.com.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $54 million

2. The Smurfs, $21 million

3. Cowboys & Aliens, $15.8 million.

4. The Change-Up, $13.5 million.

5. Captain America: The First Avenger, $13 million

6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, $12.2 million

7. Crazy, Stupid, Love, $12.1 million.

8. Friends with Benefits, $4.7 million.

9. Horrible Bosses, $4.6 million

10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, $3 million