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The Monkey (film)

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The Monkey
Theatrical release poster
Directed byOsgood Perkins
Screenplay byOsgood Perkins
Based on"The Monkey"
by Stephen King
Produced by
  • Dave Caplan
  • Michael Clear
  • Chris Ferguson
  • Brian Kavanaugh-Jones
  • James Wan[1]
Starring
Distributed byNeon
Release date
  • February 21, 2025 (2025-02-21)
Running time
98 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10–11 million[3]

The Monkey is an upcoming American horror comedy film[4] based on the 1980 short story "The Monkey" by Stephen King. The film adaptation is written and directed by Osgood Perkins. It stars Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy.

Neon will release The Monkey in theaters in the United States on February 21, 2025.

Premise

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After stumbling upon their father's vintage toy monkey in the attic, twin brothers Hal and Bill witness a string of horrifying deaths unfolding around them. In an attempt to leave the haunting behind, the brothers discard the monkey and pursue separate paths over time. However, when the inexplicable deaths resurface, the brothers are compelled to reconcile and embark on a mission to permanently eliminate the cursed toy.[5]

Cast

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Production

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Going into the 2023 Cannes Film Market, financer Black Bear Pictures announced that a film adaptation of Stephen King's short story "The Monkey" was in development and up for sale to distributors.[6] Osgood Perkins was hired to write and direct and was produced by James Wan under his Atomic Monster banner. Theo James was cast in the lead role.[5] In March 2024, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell and Sarah Levy were revealed to have joined the cast.[7]

Principal photography ran in Vancouver from February 5 to March 22, 2024.[8][9][7] The original story by Stephen King features a cymbal-banging monkey, but the film replaces the cymbals with a drum. According to Perkins, this change was made due to the rights to cymbal-banging version of the toy being owned by The Walt Disney Company, as the toy had appeared as a character in Toy Story 3.[10] In writing the film, Perkins chose to give the film comedic elements because he thought it was more fitting for a film about a toy, and he wanted to distinguish The Monkey from more serious horror films about possessed toys.[11] Perkins further stated that the comedy in the film intentionally avoids subtlety and makes use of extreme gore to joke about the absurdity, pointlessness, and randomness of death. He said that he was proud of how different The Monkey was from his previous film, Longlegs.[12]

Marketing

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The film's official trailer released on January 16, 2025, and amassed over 43 million views online within 24 hours. After 72 hours, it had over 100 million views;[13][14] according to Neon, this made it "the most watched independent horror film trailer ever".[15] In late January, Neon attempted to air a trailer for the film on four major television networks, and all four rejected the studio, citing the film's "excessive violence". Neon released screenshots of the email discussions with the networks, although identifying information was redacted.[16]

Release

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In May 2024, Neon won a bidding war between multiple US distributors for domestic rights at the Marché du Film and set a theatrical release date for 2025.[17] The film is scheduled to be released in the US on February 21, 2025.[18] The Monkey marks the second collaboration between Neon and Perkins after Longlegs (2024).[19] Prior to its official February release, the film was screened early in January at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre as part of Beyond Fest.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (August 12, 2024). "Theo James Gets Bloody in Neon's 'The Monkey' Teaser From 'Longlegs' Director Osgood Perkins". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "The Monkey (15A)". Irish Film Classification Office. January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  3. ^ Willmore, Alison (July 12, 2024). "Osgood Perkins Gets Into the Family Business". Vulture. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Romano, Nick (December 19, 2024). "The Monkey is like a comedy, except 'people die in insane ways': Inside the Stephen King adaptation (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 27, 2024. It's a perfect example of the tone the director wanted to strike, that mix of horror and comedy.
  5. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (May 9, 2023). "Theo James To Star In Stephen King Adaptation The Monkey From The Conjuring Universe Creator James Wan; Black Bear International Launches Hot Project For Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 20, 2023). "Prolific La La Land Producer Automatik Merges With Range Media Partners". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (March 28, 2024). "'The Monkey': Stephen King Adaptation With Theo James Also Stars Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell & Sarah Levy; Filming Wraps". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  8. ^ "In Production - British Columbia". Creative BC Film Commission. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  9. ^ Cooper, Alison (February 29, 2024). "17 movies and TV shows filming in Vancouver in March". Daily Hive. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  10. ^ West, Amy; Setchfield, Nick (January 25, 2025). "The Monkey director explains how a bizarre copyright issue actually improved the comedy horror movie: "Thanks, Disney!"". gamesradar. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  11. ^ Milici, Lauren; Setchfield, Nick (January 26, 2025). "The Monkey director explains why it was so important to him to give Stephen King's "chilling" short story a "playful horror" twist: "I think [that] seemed correct for a movie about a toy"". gamesradar. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  12. ^ "The Monkey Sees Osgood Perkins 'Going For Extremes' With Explosive Gore: 'There's A Lot Of Mess'". Empire. January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  13. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 24, 2025). "'The Monkey', Osgood Perkins' Next Pic, Racks Up 109M Views In Trailer Traffic, A Record For Independent Horror Film". Deadline. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  14. ^ Shayo, Lukas (January 26, 2025). "New Stephen King Horror Movie Sets Massive Trailer Viewing Record Ahead Of Release". ScreenRant. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  15. ^ Carter, Justin (January 26, 2025). "The Monkey's Newest Gory Trailer Is a Record-Breaking Hit". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  16. ^ Mahler, Matt (January 29, 2025). "Leaked Emails Show That the New Stephen King Movie Is Too Violent to Get Ads". MovieWeb. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  17. ^ Wiseman, Andreas; Lodderhose, Diana (May 18, 2024). "Stephen King Adaptation The Monkey, Starring Theo James, Pre-Sells To Neon For U.S. After Promo Sparks Buyer Tug-Of-War — Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  18. ^ Romano, Nick (June 20, 2024). "The Monkey director calls Stephen King film 'Robert Zemeckis on ecstasy' (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  19. ^ Grobar, Matt (August 12, 2024). "The Monkey Teaser: Theo James Stars In Stephen King Adaptation Reteaming Longlegs Helmer Osgood Perkins With Neon". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
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