Despite pretty good reviews (including ours), The First Omen underperformed dramatically at the box office this winter. It was meant to reignite The Omen franchise. Still, with a domestic total of just under $20 million, it seems unlikely it succeeded in this goal (although it made an additional $30 million overseas). Initially, The First Omen was intended to be released directly to streaming via Hulu before getting a theatrical bow, and now it’s finally making its way to the service. The movie is set to come out on Hulu on May 30th, only two days after its PVOD release on May 28th.
Notably, the film will be released on physical media, with a Blu-ray and DVD release set for July 30th. That’s a departure for Disney, who produced the film, as their horror breakout hit Barbarian has yet to come out on Blu-ray or DVD.
The First Omen served as a prequel to the Omen saga and starred Nell Tiger Free (of the Apple TV series Servant) as Margaret, a noviciate sent to Rome where she’s put to work in an orphanage before taking her vows. Once there, she’s approached by a defrocked priest, Ralph Ineson’s Father Brennan (who just signed on to play Galactus in Fantastic Four) and warned about a sinister conspiracy in the church revolving around a plot to produce the anti-Christ. It was meant to be an origin story for Damien, although the film made a small (but important) change to his origin, which made it controversial among fans.
While it didn’t set the world on fire in theaters, there’s a good chance The First Omen will find a more receptive audience once it hits streaming, where it was originally supposed to debut. If you missed The First Omen in theaters, will you be giving it a chance on streaming?