Change-Up’ slips on an ‘Apes’ box-office banana

Not that it should come as any surprise, but monkeys rule the world. Or apes. Or monkeys and apes. And orangutans. Not to mention gorillas.

Yes, the latest version of the “Planet of the Apes” series, the prequel “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” captured the No. 1 spot in the box-office competition this past weekend. “Apes,” as the Studio Briefing reports , earned some $54 million — far better than the heavily hyped comedy, “The Change-Up,” managed at just $13.5 million.

That’s good news for “Apes” star James Franco, who is still living down his embarrassing cohosting role at the last Academy Awards show.