Ranking the Planet of the Apes movies is a bit like trying to sort through a box of ancient, radioactive artifacts. You have these weird, low-budget relics from the early 1970s sitting right next to billion-dollar digital masterpieces that look so real it’s honestly kind of unsettling.
Ever since Charlton Heston first shouted at a group of "damn dirty apes," this franchise has been obsessed with one thing: how quickly humanity can lose its grip on the world. It’s a series that isn't afraid to blow up the entire planet in the second movie or turn its hero into a literal messiah by the ninth. With ten films now in the books—including the 2024 addition Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes—everyone has a different opinion on which one sits at the top of the hierarchy.
Some people swear by the motion-capture wizardry of Andy Serkis. Others can't get past the iconic, rubber-mask charm of the 60s. To get the planet of the apes movies ranked correctly, you have to look at more than just the special effects. You have to look at the soul.
10. Planet of the Apes (2001)
Tim Burton. Mark Wahlberg. A nonsensical twist ending involving an Ape Abraham Lincoln.
On paper, this should have worked. The makeup effects by Rick Baker were, and still are, incredible. They look better than many modern CGI creations because they have actual weight and texture. But the movie itself? It’s a mess. Mark Wahlberg looks bored, the dialogue is clunky, and it feels like a generic action movie rather than a thought-provoking sci-fi epic.
The ending is the real kicker. In the 1968 original, the twist makes perfect, horrifying sense. In Burton’s version, it’s just a "gotcha" moment that raises questions the movie has no interest in answering. Most fans just pretend this one doesn't exist.
9. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
This was the end of the original run, and you can tell the studio was out of money. The budget was reportedly slashed to around $1.7 million, which is basically pocket change for a sci-fi war movie.
Instead of an epic clash for the future of the world, we get a skirmish in a park. Roddy McDowall does his best as Caesar, but the "war" feels tiny. It’s notable for trying to find a more hopeful ending where apes and humans live in peace, but it lacks the bite of its predecessors. It’s essentially a made-for-TV movie that accidentally ended up in theaters.
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8. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Things got weird here. Really weird.
Charlton Heston didn't even want to be in a sequel, so he agreed to a small role on the condition that his character dies and the entire planet gets blown up. Talk about a "no sequels" policy. The movie follows a different astronaut who finds a cult of telepathic, skinless mutants who worship a nuclear bomb.
It’s bizarre, psychedelic, and deeply cynical. It’s not a "good" movie in the traditional sense, but the ending—where the screen literally goes black as the world ends—is one of the boldest moves in franchise history.
7. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
This is the darkest entry by far. Set in a "future" 1991, it depicts a world where apes have become slaves. It’s a direct allegory for racial tensions and urban unrest in America.
The film is brutal. Caesar (the son of Cornelius and Zira) leads a bloody revolution that feels shockingly violent for a PG movie of that era. There’s a raw, angry energy here that you don't see in the other sequels. If you can ignore some of the cheap sets, it’s a powerful piece of social commentary that still hits hard today.
6. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Taking place hundreds of years after Caesar’s death, Kingdom had the impossible task of following up a near-perfect trilogy. It’s a beautiful film—the way nature has reclaimed the cities is stunning—but it feels a bit like a prologue.
Noa is a likable lead, and Proximus Caesar is a fantastic villain who perverts the original Caesar's teachings. However, the pacing is a bit slow, and it spends a lot of time setting up future sequels. It's solid, high-tier sci-fi, but it hasn't quite earned its place among the legends just yet.
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The Masterpieces: What Most People Get Wrong
When discussing the planet of the apes movies ranked, the conversation usually shifts to the "modern" vs. "classic" debate. People often assume the new ones are better just because the tech is better. That's a mistake. The best movies in this series work because they are Shakespearean tragedies, not because they have cool CGI.
5. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
This is the "fun" one that turns into a nightmare. Cornelius and Zira travel back in time to 1970s Los Angeles. For the first half, they are celebrities. They go to parties, wear human clothes, and drink "grape juice plus."
Then, the government realizes that these talking apes are the precursors to the end of humanity. The tone shifts from lighthearted comedy to a tense, heartbreaking thriller. It’s a brilliant script that handles the "Grandfather Paradox" with more emotional weight than most Terminator movies.
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Nobody expected this to be good. A prequel-reboot starring the guy from Spider-Man? It sounded like a disaster.
Instead, we got the birth of a legend. The scene where Caesar finally speaks—screaming a guttural "NO!"—is one of the most iconic moments in modern cinema. It’s a small, intimate story about a son outgrowing his father, and it grounded the series in a way that made the sequels possible.
3. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Despite the title, this isn't really a war movie. It’s a Western. It’s a Biblical epic.
Caesar is at his most broken here. He’s haunted by the ghost of Koba and driven by a desire for revenge. Woody Harrelson plays a terrifying, Kurtz-like colonel, but the movie belongs to the apes. The ending is quiet, somber, and deeply moving. It’s a rare example of a blockbuster trilogy that actually sticks the landing.
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2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
This is arguably the best "movie" of the bunch. Matt Reeves took over the director's chair and turned the volume up to eleven.
The conflict isn't just "apes vs. humans." It’s a tragedy of missed connections. Caesar wants peace; the humans want survival. But the real villain is Koba, an ape who was so tortured by humans that he can no longer see them as anything but monsters. The scene where Koba hijacks a tank is pure cinematic adrenaline. It’s smart, tense, and visually breathtaking.
1. Planet of the Apes (1968)
You just can't beat the original.
Even with the dated makeup and Charlton Heston’s over-the-top acting, the 1968 film remains the gold standard. It’s a perfect script (co-written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling). The pacing is masterful, slowly peeling back the layers of this strange society until the final, devastating reveal on the beach.
It’s not just a sci-fi movie; it’s a cultural landmark. It questioned religion, science, and human nature in a way that was revolutionary at the time and remains relevant today. When you look at the planet of the apes movies ranked, the 1968 classic still holds the crown because it changed the way we look at the world.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re planning a marathon, don’t just watch them in order of release. There are better ways to experience this timeline.
- The "Caesar" Cycle: If you want a tight, emotional story, watch Rise, Dawn, and War back-to-back. It’s one of the few perfect trilogies in film history.
- The "Time Loop" Theory: Watch the original five in order. You’ll see how the end of the fifth movie actually leads into a modified version of the first, creating a paradoxical loop that fans have debated for decades.
- Skip the Remake: Seriously. Unless you are a die-hard Tim Burton completist, you can skip the 2001 film without losing a single bit of relevant lore.
The beauty of this franchise is that it keeps evolving. Whether it’s through the lens of 1960s nuclear anxiety or modern concerns about AI and viral pandemics, these movies always find a way to reflect our own faces back at us—even if those faces happen to be covered in fur.
To fully appreciate the scope of the series, track down the original Pierre Boulle novel, La Planète des Singes. It’s quite different from the films—the apes have cars and helicopters—but it provides the DNA for everything that followed. Understanding the source material makes the 1968 adaptation's changes feel even more brilliant.