Planet of the Apes
Despite a considerable budget of $100.0M, Planet of the Apes became a financial success, earning $362.2M worldwide—a 262% return.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Year 2029 aboard space station Oberon. Captain Leo Davidson trains primates for space missions, establishing a world where humans are superior to apes and use them as tools.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 9 minutes when Pericles is lost in an electromagnetic storm during a probe mission. Against direct orders, Leo takes a pod to rescue him and is pulled into the same storm, disappearing from the Oberon.. At 7% through the film, this Disruption arrives earlier than typical, accelerating the narrative momentum. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 17 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 14% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Leo is brought into the ape city and sold at the slave auction. He actively chooses to observe and learn rather than immediately escape, committing to understanding this inverted world to find a way home., moving from reaction to action.
The Collapse moment at 70 minutes (58% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Surrounded at Calima by Thade's massive army, vastly outnumbered and outmatched. Extinction seems certain - this rebellion appears doomed. The whiff of death: annihilation of Leo's cause and all the humans who followed him., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 74 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 62% of the runtime. The revelation stuns the ape army. Final confrontation with Thade inside the Oberon where Leo traps him. Attar, seeing the truth, orders his troops to stand down. Leo departs in Pericles' pod to return through the storm., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Planet of the Apes's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 12 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Planet of the Apes against these established plot points, we can identify how the filmmaker utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Planet of the Apes within its genre.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Year 2029 aboard space station Oberon. Captain Leo Davidson trains primates for space missions, establishing a world where humans are superior to apes and use them as tools.
Theme
Discussion about the apes' capabilities and their place in the hierarchy. Theme of power, supremacy, and the arbitrary nature of who rules whom is introduced through casual conversation about the primates.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of life aboard Oberon: Leo's relationship with Pericles, the chain of command, the electromagnetic storm research, and Leo's restless desire to explore rather than observe.
Disruption
Pericles is lost in an electromagnetic storm during a probe mission. Against direct orders, Leo takes a pod to rescue him and is pulled into the same storm, disappearing from the Oberon.
Resistance
Leo crashes on unknown planet and emerges to explore. He witnesses gorilla soldiers raiding a human settlement, hunting humans like animals. Captured and processed as a slave, debating internally whether this is real.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Leo is brought into the ape city and sold at the slave auction. He actively chooses to observe and learn rather than immediately escape, committing to understanding this inverted world to find a way home.
Premise
Leo experiences the planet-of-the-apes premise: witnessing ape society's structure, meeting Limbo and Daena, learning about their religion and the forbidden Calima, and planning escape with Ari's help.
Opposition
Thade pursues relentlessly with superior forces. Leo rallies more humans, building a small army. Tensions rise with romantic complications and doubts. The journey to Calima becomes increasingly dangerous.
Collapse
Surrounded at Calima by Thade's massive army, vastly outnumbered and outmatched. Extinction seems certain - this rebellion appears doomed. The whiff of death: annihilation of Leo's cause and all the humans who followed him.
Crisis
In the face of certain defeat, Leo explores Calima and processes what appears to be his final moments. The darkness before the revelation that will change everything.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The revelation stuns the ape army. Final confrontation with Thade inside the Oberon where Leo traps him. Attar, seeing the truth, orders his troops to stand down. Leo departs in Pericles' pod to return through the storm.
Transformation
Leo crash-lands at the Lincoln Memorial expecting home, but finds a statue of General Thade instead. Ape police surround him. The inversion is complete and inescapable - the cycle of domination transcends worlds.