Original Movies, Meet the Resistance: ‘Monkey Man’ and ‘The First Omen’ Underwhelm Box Office

Exhibitor convention CinemaCon starts tomorrow in Las Vegas, and it would be great to kick off with happy box office news. That’s not the case with surprisingly weak results for two fresh titles, “Monkey Man” (Universal) and “The First Omen” (Disney). They brought the weekend total lower than expected and suggested an already-weak April could slide toward a worst-case scenario.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” (Warner Bros.) repeated as #1 in its second week, more than tripling the take for #2, Dev Patel’s “Monkey Man.” The franchise’s 60 percent drop isn’t bad, given an opening weekend that included Good Friday and the Easter holidays. It’s grossed $135 million U.S./Canada in 10 days.

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After March revitalized the concept of franchises and sequels as an essential part of the distribution ecosystem, the hope was April would demonstrate continued audience interest in lower-budgeted original titles — as evidenced earlier this year with “Bob Marley: One Love” and “Anyone but You.”

“Monkey Man” and “Omen” had better-than-average reviews for genre titles, and Patel’s movie came off of a strong SXSW debut. However, both came in below projections that suggested each had a chance of grossing $13 million or more. The Cinemascore for “Monkey” was B+ (mediocre) and “Omen” a C (bad); neither showed much momentum to suggest significant improvement ahead.

What makes this particularly disappointing is both films were rescued from streaming debuts. “Monkey” began as a Netflix project, with Jason Blum pushing Universal to take it on. “Omen” was one of the many 20th Century Fox legacy prospects Disney acquired with the studio. The hope was the $30 million budget might lead to IP.

Other than Searchlight’s “Poor Things,” this was Disney’s first new release since “Wish” last November. Many outlets credit 20th Century as the distributor, a distinction that inadvertently elevates an awkward reality: Disney can nurture sequels and brands, but has a very hard time with anything beyond the tried and true.

Next week, “Civil War” (A24) will give originality another shot, but this weekend’s weak openings are a jolt to April’s prospects. The weekend totaled around $86 million, down from $205 million last year. (That date included the Good Friday/Easter holidays plus the opening of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”) We’re now 10 percent below 2024 year to date.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (Sony) at #3 is best among the other three March sequels. After three weekends it’s at $89 million, with foreign at $49 million (some key territories still to open). “Kung Fu Panda 4” (Universal) is #5, down only 24 percent with $166 million domestic so far; “Dune: Part Two” (WB) is #6 and $265 million domestic.

Two new films joined the top 10. Fathom’s “Someone Like You,” based on a best-selling romance novel, is #7 with $3 million in 1,800 theaters. Sony Picture Classics’ “Wicked Little Letters” with Maggie Smith in its second week expanded to 1,002 theaters. The distributor reports a gross of $1,557,000, which includes a much bigger Sunday estimate than anticipated by rival distributors, so its #8 position could be high.

New platform releases this week were led by two titles in four New York/Los Angeles theaters.”The Beast” (Janus/Sideshow) grossed $48,000, while “Housekeeping for Beginners” (Focus) is close at $45,000. Both European productions premiered at Venice, with a nearly identical level of strong reviews. Both expand to other big cities next week. In a single Manhattan location, “The People’s Joker” (Altered Innocence), a renegade comedy take on the “Batman” character did $16,272 in a delayed release after it was initially shown once at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival.

Among intriguing recent wider releases, Neon’s “Immaculate” is again in the Top 10, with $14 million so far. IFC’s “Late Night with the Devil” added another million for $8.5 million total. A24’s “Love Lies Bleeding” is at $7.8 million.

The Top 10

1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (Warner Bros.) Week 2; last weekend #1

$31,700,000 (-60%) in 3,948 (+47) theaters; PTA (per theater average): $8,029; Cumulative: $135,038,000

2. Monkey Man (Universal) NEW – Cinemascore: B+; Metacritic: 72; Est. budget: $10 million

$10,150,000 in 3,029 theaters; PTA: $3,351; Cumulative: $10,100,000

3. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #2

$9,000,000 (-42%) in 3,835 (-510) theaters; PTA: $2,347; Cumulative: $88,864,000

4. The First Omen (Disney) NEW – Cinemascore: C; Metacritic: 64; Est. budget: $30 million

$8,363,000 in 3,375 theaters; PTA: $2,478; Cumulative: $8,363,000

5. Kung Fu Panda 4 (Universal) Week 5; Last weekend #4

$7,850,000 (-24%) in 3,398 (-184) theaters; PTA: $2,310; Cumulative: $166,050,000

6. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.) Week 5; Last weekend #3

$7,200,000 (-37%) in 2,836 (-300) theaters; PTA: $2,539; Cumulative: $264,859,000

7. Someone Like You (Fathom) NEW

$3,002,000 in 1,800 theaters; PTA: $1,668; Cumulative: $3,002,000

8. Wicked Little Letters (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 2; Last weekend #26

$1,557,000 (+2,031%) in 1,002 theaters (+997); PTA: $1,554; Cumulative: $1,653,000

9. Arthur the King (Lionsgate) Week 3; Last weekend #6

$1,540,000 (-38%) in 1,724 (-821) theaters; PTA: $904; Cumulative: $22,206,000

10. Immaculate (Neon) Week 3; Last weekend #5

$1,405,000 (-57%) in 1,706 (-656) theaters; PTA: $824; Cumulative: $14,146,000

Other specialized titles

Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded.

The Beast (Janus/Sideshow) NEW – Metacritic: 84; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto, New York 2023

$48,000 in 4 theaters; PTA: $12,000

Housekeeping for Beginners (Focus) NEW – Metacritic: 85; Festivals include: Venice 2023

$45,000 in 4 theaters; PTA: $11,250

The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence) NEW – Metacritic: 80; Festivals include: Toronto 2022

$16,272 in 1 theater; PTA: $16,272

La Chimera (Neon) Week 2

$80,321 in 18 (+15) theaters; PTA: $4,462; Cumulative: $151,232

Late Night with the Devil (IFC) Week 3

$1,114,000 in 1,159 (-283) theaters; Cumulative: $8,451,000

Femme (Utopia) Week 3

$64,843 in 104 (+10) theaters; Cumulative: $125,082

Limbo (Music Box) Week 3

$4.515 in 11 (+4) theaters; Cumulative: $27,537

One Life (Bleecker Street) Week 4

$269,063 in 260 (-318) theaters; Cumulative: $5,123,000

Love Lies Bleeding (A24) Week 5

$288,201 in 264 (-594) theaters; Cumulative: $7,830,000Cabrini (Angel) Week 5 1345

Problemista (A24) Week 6

$163,580 in 195 (-184) theaters; Cumulative: $2,260,000

Perfect Days (Neon) Week 9

$60,000 in 63 (+1) theaters; Cumulative: $3,519,000

The Taste of Things (IFC) Week 9

$10,892 in 17 (-24) theaters; Cumulative: $2,655,000

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