'Apes' rules U.S. box office for second weekend

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - Sci-fi sequel "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" beat a horror flick, an animated family film and an adult comedy to keep its grip on the U.S. and Canadian box office title for a second straight weekend.

"Apes" collected $36 million in domestic ticket sales from Friday through Sunday, according to estimates from Rentrak. Low-budget horror film "The Purge: Anarchy" finished in second place with $28.4 million.

Another new nationwide release, Walt Disney Co's animated "Planes: Fire and Rescue," grabbed $18 million to take third place, while comedy "Sex Tape" took in $15 million for the No. 4 spot.

"Apes," a sequel to 2011 franchise reboot "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," stars Andy Serkis as Caesar, a brainy ape who leads the interaction with humans in a battle for dominance.

"The Purge: Anarchy," produced for $9 million, is a follow-up to 2013 summer horror hit "The Purge." The film tells the story of a couple whose car breaks down at the beginning of the purge, a 12-hour period in which crime is legal.

Another sequel, "Planes: Fire and Rescue," features the voice of U.S. comedian and actor Dane Cook as a crop dusting plane that joins forces with a team of rescue vehicles to fight a wildfire.

"Sex Tape" stars Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel as a married couple who accidentally upload a racy video of themselves onto the Internet.

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox. "Sex Tape" was distributed by Sony Corp's movie studio. "The Purge: Anarchy" was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Chris Michaud; Editing by Andrew Heavens)