Box Office: ‘Monkey Man,’ ‘First Omen’ Coming in Lower Than Expected as ‘Godzilla x Kong’ Stays No. 1

22 days ago

Dev Patel's first time directing a feature film is 'Monkey Man', which has been compared to the action-packed revenge movie 'John Wick', but takes place in India.

Monkey Man - Figure 1 — Photo Hollywood Reporter

The first ever movie directed by Dev Patel called Monkey Man has been doing quite well, outshining The First Omen at the local cinemas. Yet, despite their anticipation of high earnings, both movies are not doing as well as predicted, as per the latest reports on Saturday.

It is unlikely that either type of movie will surpass Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary, as the top film. This is a big win for the MonsterVerse franchise, considering that many series are finding it challenging to stay innovative. There is an issue overall with too many movies targeted towards male audiences. However, The First Omen aims to attract a younger female demographic too.

Monkey Man, brought to you by Universal and the production company owned by Jordan Peele, Monkeypaw Productions, earned a total of $4.1 million on Friday alone. This amount is expected to bring in a projected total of $10.5 million, putting Monkey Man at second place in terms of earnings. Before the weekend, both Universal and tracking services predicted that the movie would have a debut in the range of $12 million to $14 million.

However, earning $10 million is quite impressive for a movie that only secured studio distribution at the last minute solely because Peele urged them to do so. Moreover, the film barely had enough time to market itself. Nevertheless, Universal made an astute decision by showcasing Monkey Man at South-by-Southwest, where the audience, influencers, and critics gave it a highly positive response.

On the other hand, the response from regular moviegoers was not as enthusiastic. Monkey Man received a respectable CinemaScore of B+ from those who bought tickets on Friday, and audiences were split on PostTrak surveys. While its Rotten Tomatoes rating started off at an impressive 94%, it later decreased to 86%. Meanwhile, The First Omen's rating on Rotten Tomatoes isn't too far behind at 81%.

The film created by Patel draws inspiration from both the John Wick series and the fabled Hanuman, who stands for power and bravery. Aside from being the director, Patel also takes on the lead role in the movie, which contains violent and mature themes. He plays an unnamed youth who wears a gorilla mask and struggles to make ends meet by fighting in underground clubs. One day, he discovers a means to enter the esteemed organization that caused his mother's demise and obtains his long-awaited vengeance. As a result, he also manages to save those in the city who are disadvantaged and lacking control over their own lives.

First Omen, a movie that takes place before Richard Donner's film from 1976, earned $3.2 million on Friday. Experts predict it will make $8.3 million over the weekend, which should place it at the fourth position in the box office ranking chart. However, some reports suggest that Kung Fu Panda 4 might have a chance to surpass First Omen and seize fourth place.

In the movie The First Omen, Nell Tiger Free portrays a young woman from the United States who travels to Rome to dedicate her life to the Catholic Church. However, she experiences a feeling of darkness that makes her doubt her beliefs and reveal a horrifying plot to bring forth the embodiment of evil.

Arkasha Stevenson, the filmmaker, took charge of directing First Omen. Together with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas, she also wrote the script. In addition, Ben Jacoby was credited for the story and David Seltzer created the original characters that inspired the film. Among the cast members are Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy.

Stevenson's movie will be shown in most important countries this weekend. Monkey Man, on the other hand, will be released more gradually, starting with 27 markets as it makes its debut in North America.

The figures will be refreshed on Sunday.