20th Century Fox’s gamble to open The Omen worldwide on 06/06/06 has paid off, to the tune of $12.6 million in the US alone.
It was a risk, as Tuesday is among the slowest cinema going days in the week, but with that killer opening day and easy-to-remember date the new Omen managed to overcome generally negative reviews to succeed in its opening day. For those who care about such things, this is the biggest Tuesday opening ever, $4,000 more than Meet The Fokkers in 2004. The high figure even prompted Fox to have a little fun, reporting that the final tally for Tuesday stood at $12,633,666. Oh, those wags.
Of course, the film will undoubtedly drop off over the course of the week. And lumbering over the horizon like a truck ready to crush all Stateside box office opposition is Pixar’s Cars. Still, the higher-ups at Fox seem pleased. “I never expected anything near this -- I would have been happy with half this gross," Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at Fox told The Hollywood Reporter. "People loved the concept of The Omen."
Here in the UK, the film booted X-Men: The Last Stand from the top of the box office for the day.