“Godzilla x Kong” beats “Monkey Man” and “First Omen”

It's a major showdown at the box office this weekend, plus some good old Antichrist horror on the side. Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” looks to hang on to the top of the domestic charts, trailing the opening weekend of Universal’s blockbuster “Monkey Man” and 20th Century Studios’ horror revival “The First Omen.”

The kaiju's victory likely has less to do with the New Empire's staying power and more to do with the strength of its rival. The blockbuster Monster Mash grossed $8.5 million on Friday, a sharp 77% drop. Since its opening a week ago. “New Empire” You could be looking at a 60% drop across the three-day frame — not a super big drop from the opening weekend of a blockbuster, but still pretty significant. It takes into account the impressively small 44% drop that fellow legendary production “Dune: Part Two” faced in its sophomore outing.

However, The New Empire has already surpassed the $100 million domestic gross, something only two other films have done so far this year. The film has gotten off to an impressive start overseas, where both Godzilla and King Kong have traditionally drawn audiences. With a production budget of $150 million, the film still met Legendary and Warner Bros. expectations, but things may be coming back down to earth a bit after a bigger-than-expected opening weekend.

The runner-up is Universal's Monkey Man, which the studio picked up after Netflix dropped a first-look deal with the production. The action film, which stars and is directed by Dev Patel in his feature film debut, grossed $4.2 million on Friday and its previews. It is now eyeing a $10.5 million debut From 3,029 locations — a few steps behind the $12 million bracket that expectations had reached before the weekend. The film received strong reviews after a buzzy premiere at SXSW in March. Early-show audiences tend to be positive, as evidenced by a B+ grade assigned by polling firm Cinema Score.

That's not a bad place to start with “Monkey Man,” which Universal acquired for $10 million with the help of Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions. The film tells the action-packed revenge story of a boxer in India who infiltrates the secret criminal empire in his city.

The First Omen had a less successful debut, earning $3.2 million during Friday and preview screenings. Forecasts heading into the weekend had pegged an opening north of $14 million. Now, it looks like the release from 20th Century Studios (owned by Disney) will be lucky to even reach $10 million.

It's a rare underperformance for horror at the box office, though that may have something to do with trying to appeal to audiences with a decades-old property. Another revival of an old series from the 1970s, “The Exorcist: Believer,” also came in later than expected last October.

Of course, 20th Century Studios didn't spend $400 million on the rights to The Omen or promote plans for a new trilogy, like Universal did with The Exorcist. Instead, “First Omen” was budgeted at a modest $30 million (although that's still a fairly steep amount for horror — often a low-risk, high-reward gamble for studios). The film received positive nods from critics, although audiences were less enthusiastic, turning in a C grade Score on cinema points. Even if the First Omen can't find its way out of the red in the coming weeks, it won't pose an incredible financial burden.

This sixth new entry serves as a prequel to Richard Donner's original 1976 film “The Omen,” and follows an American working in a Roman church who uncovers an unholy conspiracy. The film stars Neil Tiger Free, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy, and Tawfiq Barhoum, while it is directed by Arcasha Stevenson.

Sony's “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” looks to land at No. 4, facing a 42% drop in its third weekend. The supernatural comedy sequel will surpass $85 million domestically this weekend, along with $40 million internationally — a number that would seem to justify a $100 million production budget, plus marketing costs and accounting for exhibitors' share of ticket sales. The film's prequel, the revived Ghostbusters: Afterlife, has grossed $102 million after 17 days of its North American release in 2021, a pace that Frozen Empire lags far behind.

Universal's “Kung Fu Panda 4” looks to round out the top five, projecting another modest drop this weekend (23%) for another $8 million. In the coming days, it will surpass the $165.2 million domestic cume of 2010's “Kung Fu Panda 2” to become the second-highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation franchise title in North America.