The Monkey Man, The First Omen opens less than expected

Dev Patel in the movie “Monkey Man”

Universal Pictures

Director Dev Patel’s first feature film Monkey man He fights successfully The first omen at the domestic box office, but both films came in lower than expected, according to Saturday estimates.

Neither of these types of films has any chance of wresting the top spot from Warner Bros. And Legendary’s. Godzilla x Kong: The New EmpireIt’s a huge victory for the MonsterVerse at a time when many franchises are struggling to stay fresh. There is one problem in general: the abundance of projects that skew male. despite of, The first omen She hopes to attract younger women as well.

Presented by Universal and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, Monkey man It made $4.1 million on Friday against a projected $10.5 million debut, good enough for a second-place finish. Heading into the weekend, tracking services and Universal expected a debut in the $12 million to $14 million range.

Still, $10 million isn’t a bad number for a film that was distributed to a studio at the eleventh hour at Bale’s behest and had only a truncated market runway. Smartly global debut Monkey man in South by Southwest, where it received an exciting response from audiences, influencers, and critics.

However, the reaction among mainstream audiences was a bit more tame; Monkey man It received a B+ CinemaScore from Friday ticket buyers and split exits in PostTrak polls. The rating on Rotten Tomatoes was initially around 94 percent, but then dropped to 86 percent. (The first omen The RT score isn’t too far off from 81 percent.)

Patel’s film is inspired by the John Wick series and the legend of Hanuman, an icon that embodies strength and courage. In addition to directing, Patel stars in the violence-filled, R-rated film as an anonymous young man in a gorilla mask who makes a meager living working night after night in an underground fight club when he discovers a way to infiltrate the elite. The group responsible for his mother’s death and taking revenge on him. By doing so, he is also helping to save the city’s poor and vulnerable people.

The first omena prequel to Richard Donner’s 1976 film, grossed $3.2 million on Friday for a projected opening weekend of $8.3 million, which likely puts it fourth behind it. Ghostbusters: The Frozen Empire. As some show Kung Fu Panda 4 In close combat with The first omen For fourth place.

The first omen Nell Tiger Free stars as a young American woman who is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the Catholic Church when she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncover a terrifying plot to bring about the birth of evil incarnate. .

It was directed by director Arcasha Stevenson The first omen From a script I wrote with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas. Ben Jacoby has a recorded story, while the film is based on characters created by David Seltzer. The cast also includes Tawfiq Barhoum, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy.

Overseas, Stevenson’s film will open in nearly every major market this weekend Monkey man It will roll out more slowly, starting in 27 markets with the timing of its North American release.

The numbers will be updated on Sunday