Hey gang, we've got a couple new genre films at the box office this weekend and they might just have enough juice to steal some tickets away from the kaiju festivities that will still be going strong into weekend number two for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire!
That's right, this weekend we've got Dev Patel's wild-looking Monkey Man going wide from Universal, plus, it's the latest entry in the ever-growing "Who Asked For This?" genre of films, The First Omen, which is also out wide, from 20th Century Studios.
There's a lotta chatter around Monkey Man, including its much-buzzed bow at SXSW last month. You see that video of Dev Patel getting emotional at the ovation? C'mon, I'm not made of stone, folks! The additional seal of approval-boost from Jordan Peele jumping on board as a producer and slapping the Monkeypaw Productions logo on the film is also a boost as Peele loyalists are many. The downside here is that it's another DUDE MOVIE out at a time when the dudes have had their plates full in recent weeks.
And with The First Omen, like I said, who was asking for this? The marketing has been almost non-existent, the pre-sales aren't great, and I gotta tell you, that trailer is terrible. The only time I saw it in theaters was in front of Immaculate, which was good placement, but there's not much to get excited about here in this humble fella's opinion. Will fans of The Omen franchise, such as it is, come out to support their favorite Devil Child IP?
Now, also add in the fact that Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is currently tracking to bag another $25M this weekend after its $80M debut last week. Monkey Man is looking at around $15M-$20M, with The First Omen only forecasted to bring in somewhere between $10M-$15M.
This is a wild one. Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous as the Dude would say. Odds are Godzilla x Kong takes the top slot for the second week in a row. However, Godzilla x Kong could slightly under-perform, while Monkey Man could slightly over-perform and if that happens, all of a sudden we have a new, and unexpected, title sitting at number one! I don't think anyone's seeing a First Omen upset on our kaiju friends, however, it could just upset Monkey Man. What do we think? Let's do this week's poll like horse racing. Who's placing where? Vote below and we'll see what shakes out on Monday during On-Screen Live!
Have a great weekend at the movies, y'all, and thanks for being the kick-ass subscribers you all are! - Andrew