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Still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
Film 7 of 9 · by Priya Nair

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014): Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), directed by Matt Reeves, is the second film in the modern saga, set ten years after a virus wiped out most of humanity. Andy Serkis returns as Caesar, the film runs 130 minutes, and it grossed more than $710 million worldwide on a $170 million budget. It follows Rise of the Planet of the Apes and leads directly into War for the Planet of the Apes.

Image: TMDB
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) theatrical poster
US release
July 11, 2014
Runtime
2h 10m
Rating
PG-13 / 12A / M
Director
Matt Reeves
Budget
$170 million
Worldwide
$711 million

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Trailer

Official Teaser Trailer

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequel trailer

What Is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes About?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is about a fragile deal between a colony of intelligent apes and a group of human survivors, set ten years after the Simian Flu pandemic. Only a small fraction of humanity remains, and the apes, led by Caesar, have built a settlement in the forest outside San Francisco.

A small group of humans, led by Malcolm, comes into the woods looking for an old hydroelectric dam that could restore power to their city. A frightened human wounds a young ape, and Caesar orders the humans to leave. Malcolm then wins Caesar's permission to repair the dam, on the condition that the humans give up their guns.

That bargain drives the whole first act. Each side needs something from the other, and neither fully trusts what it has agreed to. If you are new to the saga, it helps to start with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, because Caesar's upbringing with the scientist Will Rodman explains why he is willing to give a human a chance at all.

Who Is in the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Cast?

Planet of the Apes cast

More of the cast: Al Vicente (Man 1), James Franco (Will Rodman), Michael Papajohn (Cannon-Gunner), Thomas Rosales Jr. (Old Man), Sergio Kato (Colony Survivor (uncredited)).

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Stills

  • Still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), still 1
  • Still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), still 2
  • Still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), still 3
  • Still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), still 4
  • Still from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
    Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), still 5

Release Dates

MarketDateSource
USJuly 11, 2014reportedboxofficemojo.com
UKJuly 17, 2014reportedboxofficemojo.com
AUJuly 10, 2014reportedboxofficemojo.com

Where to Watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

MarketSubscriptionRent or buy
USHulu, HBO Max Amazon Channel, FXNow, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channelAmazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
UKDisney PlusApple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store, YouTube
AUDisney PlusApple TV Store, Amazon Video, YouTube, Fetch TV

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, checked 2026-11-03.

Who Directed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?

DirectorMatt Reeves
WritersAmanda Silver, Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa
ProducersDylan Clark, Peter Chernin, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
MusicMichael Giacchino
CinematographyMichael Seresin

Box Office

Budget$170 million
Domestic (US and Canada)$209 million
International$502 million
Worldwide$711 million
Worldwide, in September 2026 dollars$1.01 billion

Planet of the Apes box office for every film.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Soundtrack and Score

Michael Giacchino composed the score for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and the soundtrack album "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Motion Picture Soundtrack" was released by Sony Classical on July 4, 2014. The album runs 19 tracks and is a score release, so most of its music is orchestral underscore that carries the story rather than a set of songs.

The film's one featured song is:

  • "The Weight" by The Band

It plays after the human survivors get power running again. At a gas station, someone puts a CD into a player, and the song fills the scene. That everyday moment sits oddly well against a film built around a fragile truce between apes and humans.

For the music on its own, start with Giacchino's score and the Sony Classical album. For how the music runs across the whole saga, see the Planet of the Apes soundtrack page on Cinvibe.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Motion Picture Soundtrack album cover

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Motion Picture Soundtrack

Score album · Sony Classical · July 4, 2014 · 19 tracks

Cover art via Deezer

Full tracklist

  1. 1Level Plaguing Field · Michael Giacchino2:21
  2. 2Look Who's Stalking · Michael Giacchino2:35
  3. 3The Great Ape Processional · Michael Giacchino4:34
  4. 4Past Their Primates · Michael Giacchino1:57
  5. 5Close Encounters of the Furred Kind · Michael Giacchino4:38
  6. 6Monkey to the City · Michael Giacchino1:16
  7. 7The Lost City of Chimpanzee · Michael Giacchino3:46
  8. 8Along Simian Lines · Michael Giacchino5:04
  9. 9Caesar No Evil, Hear No Evil · Michael Giacchino2:27
  10. 10Monkey See, Monkey Coup · Michael Giacchino5:12
  11. 11Gorilla Warfare · Michael Giacchino7:37
  12. 12The Apes of Wrath · Michael Giacchino4:28
  13. 13Gibbon Take · Michael Giacchino2:55
  14. 14Aped Crusaders · Michael Giacchino3:26
  15. 15How Bonobo Can You Go · Michael Giacchino5:42
  16. 16Enough Monkeying Around · Michael Giacchino3:35
  17. 17Primates for Life · Michael Giacchino5:42
  18. 18Planet of the End Credits · Michael Giacchino8:56
  19. 19Ain't That a Stinger · Michael Giacchino1:10

Songs in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

  1. The Weight

    Licensed song

    The Band

    After the humans get power running again, someone at a gas station puts a CD into a player and the song plays.

Sources: musicbrainz.org, themoviedb.org, fox5sandiego.com

Planet of the Apes soundtrack

What Happened in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?Spoilers

The peace between apes and humans collapses because of an ape betrayal, and Caesar has to win his own colony back before the real war begins.

Caesar lets Malcolm's group work on the dam, although his lieutenant Koba distrusts every human. Koba was tortured in a human lab, and that history colors everything he sees. Trust grows when Malcolm's partner Ellie treats Caesar's sick mate. In the city, meanwhile, the human leader Dreyfus quietly rebuilds the survivors' strength by arming them from an old armory.

Koba finds the armory and urges Caesar to strike first. Caesar refuses and beats him. Koba then steals a rifle, shoots Caesar during a gathering and blames the humans. He leads the apes in an attack on the city and takes over as leader, and he imprisons the apes who stay loyal to Caesar.

Malcolm's family rescues the badly hurt Caesar and hides him, and Malcolm helps him recover. Caesar returns, frees the prisoners and rejoins his son, Blue Eyes. At the human tower, Dreyfus has rigged explosives and he dies in the blast. Caesar defeats Koba at the top of the tower and lets him fall to his death. Malcolm warns that the human military is on its way, and Caesar tells him to take his family to safety while he prepares his apes for war.

Premiere, Release Dates, Box Office and Where to Watch

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes premiered on June 26, 2014 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the city the story is set around. It reached US theaters on July 11, 2014, UK theaters on July 17 and Australian theaters on July 10, according to Box Office Mojo. The film is rated PG-13 in the US, 12A in the UK and M in Australia, according to TMDB.

How much money did Dawn of the Planet of the Apes make? It earned more than $710 million worldwide on a $170 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. That splits into about $208 million domestic and about $502 million international. For comparison, Rise earned about $482 million worldwide and War earned about $491 million, so Dawn has the highest worldwide total of any Apes film to date. The wider picture is on the Planet of the Apes box office page.

Where can you watch it? As checked on November 3, 2026, in the US the film streams on Hulu and HBO Max, and it can be rented or bought on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango At Home. In the UK and Australia it streams on Disney Plus. Availability changes often, so the where to watch Planet of the Apes page carries the current table.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Ending ExplainedSpoilers

The ending of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes closes the fight between Caesar and Koba and then opens a larger one with the human military. At the top of the tower Caesar fights Koba and lets him fall, after declaring that he is no longer an ape. Dreyfus dies when the explosives he planted go off. Malcolm warns Caesar that more humans with military weapons are coming, Caesar sends Malcolm away to safety, and he turns to ready the apes for the coming war.

Why does Caesar say Koba is no longer an ape? It could be argued that this is the film's moral verdict. Koba took power by shooting Caesar and blaming the humans, and in Caesar's eyes that act costs him his place in the colony. In my opinion, the line works because Koba's grievance is real, since he was tortured in a human lab, while his answer to it is the thing Caesar cannot accept.

Why does Caesar send Malcolm away? Perhaps because he knows what is coming and no longer thinks a human can stand safely among the apes. Caesar refused to let Koba strike first earlier in the film, which shows he wanted peace, and the ending shows how little that wish can control once the armory has been found and the city has been attacked.

Is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes considered racist? In Dawn, the conflict is between fictional apes and fictional humans, and the harm comes from fear and distrust on both sides. Dreyfus arms the survivors and Koba arms himself, while Caesar and Malcolm try to work across the divide. Reading the story as a comment on real world prejudice is an interpretation, and a common one.

Where does this leave the saga? War for the Planet of the Apes opens two years after the war began, so the conflict Caesar prepares for at the end of Dawn is already under way when the next film starts. Watch War for the Planet of the Apes next if you want to see how Caesar's story ends.

Where Was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Filmed?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was filmed in forests near Vancouver, Canada, for the ape colony and at outdoor sites near New Orleans, USA, for the city and other outdoor scenes. More than 85 percent of the movie was shot outside the studio, according to IEEE Spectrum.

The film took its motion capture performances out into the woods. Weta Digital's Joe Letteri described the outdoor conditions as the absolute worst for reliable motion capture. The rig hid some cameras in moss, and the performers wore LED markers in translucent strands because the outdoor lighting could not be controlled.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Trivia

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is best known for taking motion capture out of the studio and into real forest.

  • More than 85 percent of the movie was shot outside the studio, in forests near Vancouver and at outdoor sites near New Orleans.
  • The outdoor motion capture rig used about 50 mocap cameras plus eight standard HD cameras, some hidden in moss or mounted on towers and poles 5 meters high.
  • Each performer wore 48 markers, and LED markers in translucent strands were used because the outdoor lighting could not be controlled.
  • Weta Digital handled the visual effects, with Joe Letteri as visual effects supervisor.
  • Serkis, Konoval and Notary carried their ape roles over from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, while Koba passed from Christopher Gordon to Toby Kebbell.
  • The world premiere was held on June 26, 2014 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
  • Dawn ranks eighth by release order in the saga and second in chronological order, after Rise. The Planet of the Apes movies in order page shows where it sits between the five original films, Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001) and the modern run.

Facts

FAQs

What happened in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?

A fragile deal between Caesar's ape colony and a group of human survivors breaks down after Koba shoots Caesar and blames the humans, and the film ends with both sides preparing for war. The full sequence is in the spoiler flagged plot section.

How much money did Dawn of the Planet of the Apes make?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes earned more than $710 million worldwide on a $170 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. About $208 million came from the domestic box office and about $502 million from international markets.

Does Will appear in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?

No, Will Rodman is not in the billed cast of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. James Franco played him in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the human side of Dawn is led by Malcolm, Ellie and Dreyfus.

What is the first Dawn of the apes movie?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) is the second film in the modern saga, after Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and before War for the Planet of the Apes (2017). By release order it is the eighth Apes film overall.

How many years have passed in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?

Ten years have passed since the Simian Flu pandemic wiped out most of humanity. By then the apes led by Caesar have built a settlement in the forest outside San Francisco.

Is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes considered racist?

In Dawn, the conflict is between fictional apes and fictional humans, and it turns on fear and distrust on both sides, with Koba's violence rooted in his torture in a human lab. Reading it as a comment on real world prejudice is an interpretation rather than something the film states.