Neon's horror comedy "The Monkey" is making waves with a strong opening weekend at the box office. Despite taking the silver medal behind Disney's "Captain America: Brave New World," which remains at the top of the charts, "The Monkey" is performing admirably. The film managed to chop into an estimated $5.8 million from 3,200 theaters, including Friday and preview screenings. This positions it as Neon's second-biggest opening weekend ever, trailing only director Osgood Perkins' previous horror hit, "Longlegs," from last summer.
While "The Monkey" has garnered positive reviews, audience reactions are mixed, with a "C+" rating from ticketbuyer survey firm Cinema Score. This isn't unusual for horror films, as they often skew lower in these polls. Despite the mixed reception, "Longlegs" experienced a similar start but managed a healthy 3.31x multiplier on its opening weekend. With a production budget of around $10 million, "The Monkey" is well-positioned to turn a substantial profit in theaters.
Following "The Monkey," Perkins and Neon are already planning their next film, "Keeper," set to hit theaters in October. "The Monkey" takes a more comical turn for Perkins by adapting a Stephen King story. The plot revolves around two brothers, played by Theo James, who witness everyone around them begin to die at the hands of a devilish toy primate.
Despite a heroic $100 million opening weekend over Presidents' Day holiday, "Captain America: Brave New World" isn't yet a theatrical success. The film is facing negative reviews and an alarming "B-" grade on Cinema Score, marking a low for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With all eyes on its second weekend, it added another $7.2 million on Friday, aiming to avoid breaking the MCU record of a 78% drop, previously set by "The Marvels" in November 2023.
"Brave New World" seems likely to mirror the performance of 2023's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which also opened on Presidents' Day weekend and experienced a 70% drop in its second week. A similar decline for "Brave New World" would be disappointing, considering "Quantumania" struggled to double its $120 million opening weekend, ultimately becoming a box office bomb.
Sony's "Paddington in Peru" secures third place, earning another $1.5 million on Friday and projecting $6.5 million for its second weekend, marking a 48% drop. The StudioCanal production is on track to surpass a $25 million domestic total through its first 10 days, similar to "Paddington 2" in 2017.
In fourth place, Universal's "Dog Man" fetched $1.3 million on Friday. The DreamWorks Animation caper is eyeing $5.7 million for its fourth weekend, representing a 41% decline, with a total domestic gross expected to reach $78 million through Sunday.
Fifth place went to the Chinese blockbuster "Ne Zha 2," which is projected to fall 63% for a $2.8 million haul in its second weekend. However, the epic has already crossed $1 billion in its native country, becoming the highest-grossing animated movie ever and ranking in the global box office's all-time top 10.
Opening outside the top five, Lionsgate released the long-shelved Zachary Levi drama "The Unbreakable Boy," nearly three years after its originally slated release date. The film is projected to earn $2.4 million this weekend across 1,687 venues.
