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How and Where to Watch the Planet of the Apes Movies in Order Before Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
They're ape-solutely worth your time
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now in theaters! It's the tenth film in the Planet of the Apes franchise — based on Pierre Boulle's novel of the same name — that began more than 50 years ago, so you're probably wondering how to watch the Planet of the Apes movies in order. It all began in 1968, when the world watched as astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) arrived on an unknown world ruled by apes in the distant future in the original Planet of the Apes. Humans had lost the ability to speak, and were captured by their simian overlords and kept in cages. Since the first Planet of the Apes film, the movies that followed have probed the question of whether man and ape can live as equals. And where's the line between human nature and animal instinct? Is there a line? As the franchise continued, so did the difficulty in answering these questions.
The latest film features an entirely new cast (you will be missed, Andy Serkis' Caesar) and takes place 300 years after the events of 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes. While Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes can be viewed in theaters, all other films in the Planet of the Apes franchise are available on streaming. And though watching the Planet of the Apes movies in chronological order is certainly an option — just be prepared for time travel and alternate timelines as the franchise thumbs its nose at sensible continuity — we've listed them below based on their theatrical release dates so that you can marvel at the technological advances in visual storytelling in the last half a century and ingest them the way everyone else did. It's also a way to better appreciate the many references the later films make to the original 1968 movie.
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Here's how and where to watch all the Planet of the Apes movies at home before you watch the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Disclaimer: When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. All streaming information is up to date as of the publish date, but the movies tend to bounce around from streaming service to streaming service; clicking on each movie title will bring you to the film's show page on TV Guide, which has current streaming information.
1. Planet of the Apes (1968)
The one that started it all. Astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) crash-lands on an unknown planet supposedly more than 2,000 years in the future — this film is set in the 3900s — and searches for signs of life. He's shocked by what he discovers: A society run by intelligent apes, where humans are a far inferior species treated as beasts. And the apes are just as appalled to find a human who has the ability to speak and think. Obviously the special effects of the 1960s were made with the technological equivalent of a calculator, so it can make it hard to take the original movie's portrayal of apes seriously. But that aside, Franklin J. Schaffner's Planet of the Apes has more than aged well with its incisive commentary on human nature, flawed justice systems, and the intersection of science and faith.
Metacritic score: 79
2. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Taking place in the ruins of underground New York City, Ted Post's Beneath the Planet of the Apes expands the world from the first movie and introduces a new group of beings: the mutants. They are descendants of human survivors of the nuclear war that devastated Earth, and have developed telepathic abilities. In this sequel, astronaut Brent (James Franciscus) crash-lands on Earth and is determined to find Taylor. His search is quickly complicated by the apes civilization's own mission to conquer the Forbidden Zone — which is home to the mutants. This movie was widely panned.
Metacritic score: 46
3. Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Think of Escape From the Planet of the Apes as the reversal of Planet of the Apes. Directed by Don Taylor, this film follows esteemed chimpanzee doctors — as in doctors who are chimpanzees, not human doctors who specialize in chimpanzees — Zira (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (Roddy McDowall) after they traversed through time and space to arrive on 1973 Earth. Time travel! Just like how the apes in the first movie were shocked by a talking, thinking human, the humans here are shocked by two talking, thinking chimpanzees. Zira and Cornelius are initially welcomed as celebrities, but Escape From the Planet of the Apes takes a darker turn when the truth behind how the apes have treated humans is revealed.
Metacritic score: 69
4. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
In J. Lee Thompson's Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, "lousy human bastards" have built a society on ape slave labor. The hope for the simian race lies in Caesar (McDowall), the son of Zira and Cornelius who was believed to be dead but was in fact raised in secret by circus owner Armando (Ricardo Montalbán). Caesar, who loses faith in humans, begins to prepare fellow apes for a revolution.
Metacritic score: 49
5. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
In the final installment of the original film series, Caesar is trying to maintain a society in which apes and humans live in peace. His vision is scorned by General Aldo (Claude Akins), a gorilla envious of Caesar's power. But Aldo's far from the only ape who's against the idea of coexisting with humans as equals. Also directed by Thompson, Battle for the Planet of the Apes features — you guessed it — yet another battle between ape and man for what's left of Earth.
Metacritic score: 40
6. Planet of the Apes (2001)
Like many remakes, Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes begs the question of why it was made. The one element that was praised more widely was the prosthetic design by Rick Baker. But besides that, this film offered more of the same. Mark Wahlberg plays Captain Leo Davidson, an astronaut who lands in a world ruled by apes and where humans are enslaved. The film also stars Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Michael Clarke Duncan.
Metacritic score: 50
7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt, thoroughly showcased how far visual effects have come with the performance capture technology used to portray apes. In fact, the film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects in 2012. But Rise of the Planet of the Apes was also significant in the franchise for introducing Andy Serkis as Caesar, the reboot trilogy's protagonist. This chimpanzee was raised by scientist Dr. Will Rodman (James Franco), who created a drug with the hope of curing his father's (John Lithgow) Alzheimer's disease without knowing its lasting effects — which include turning apes intelligent and humans sick.
Metacritic score: 68
8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Can man and ape coexist? The age-old question is revisited in Matt Reeves' Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Picking up 10 years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the film follows Caesar (Serkis) and the nation of apes he's built in Muir Woods. Their peace is threatened when a group of humans — survivors of the pandemic from a decade ago — stumble into their territory. Besides Serkis, the movie stars Toby Kebbell as the bonobo Koba, Judy Greer as Caesar's wife Cornelia, and Jason Clarke as Malcolm, the leader of the human group.
Metacritic score: 79
9. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Reeves returned to direct this film, and is also credited as its writer along with Mark Bomback. The action-packed spectacle that is War for the Planet of the Apes features an all-out battle between Caesar (Serkis) and the apes, and Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson) and the Alpha-Omega forces.
Metacritic score: 82