The Omen | |
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Created by | David Seltzer |
Original work | The Omen (1976) |
Owner | 20th Century Studios |
Years | 1976–present |
Print publications | |
Novel(s) |
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Films and television | |
Film(s) |
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Television series |
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The Omen is a media franchise, centering on a series of supernatural horror films, which began in 1976. The series centers on Damien Thorn, a child born of Satan and given to Robert and Katherine Thorn as a child. It is revealed among families that Damien is in fact meant to be the Antichrist, and as an adult is attempting to gain control of the Thorn business and reach for the presidency.
Year | Title | Directors | Writers | Producers | Runtime |
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Original series | |||||
1976 | The Omen | Richard Donner | David Seltzer | Harvey Bernhard | 111 min |
1978 | Damien - Omen II | Don Taylor | Stanley Mann and Mike Hodges | 107 min | |
1981 | The Final Conflict | Graham Baker | Andrew Birkin | Harvey Bernhard and Richard Donner | 108 min |
1991 | Omen IV: The Awakening | Jorge Montesi and Dominique Othenin-Girard | Harvey Bernhard | Harvey Bernhard and Mace Neufeld | 97 min |
2024 | The First Omen | Arkasha Stevenson | Tim Smith Arkasha Stevenson Keith Thomas | David S. Goyer and Keith Levine | 119 min |
Remake | |||||
2006 | The Omen | John Moore | David Seltzer | Glen Williamsonn and John Moore | 107 min |
The Omen is the original film in the series, directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. The story introduces Robert Thorn, the American Ambassador in Italy who adopts the newborn Damien to replace the newborn that he has been told was stillborn. When Damien reaches the age of five as Robert is transferred to Britain, strange events unfold, beginning with the boy's nanny committing suicide during his birthday party. Soon afterward Robert encounters Father Brennan, a Catholic priest who was present at Damien's birth, who attempts to warn him that the child would eventually kill him and his wife; Brennan soon dies, impaled by a falling church spire. Only after Robert's wife Katherine ends up hospitalized with a miscarriage does he come to believe Brennan; Robert and a photographer named Jennings then travel to Rome, where they learn that Damien is the Antichrist, and that the death of Robert's child was arranged so the Antichrist child could be raised by a politician. In the meantime, Katherine Thorn is murdered by Mrs. Baylock, Damien's second nanny, who in reality is a member of the Satanists who arranged Damien's upbringing, and will kill in order to suppress any threat to him. Arriving in Megiddo to find Bugenhagen, an exorcist and archaeologist, Robert is presented with the only means to kill Damien: the Seven Daggers of Megiddo. Though he initially refuses, it takes both the death of Jennings and discovering the Mark of the Beast on Damien's head to convince Robert to go through with it. Despite killing Mrs. Baylock after a struggle, Robert is killed by the authorities before he can kill Damien.
The second film, Damien - Omen II , starts with Bugenhagen attempting to send Richard[ who? ] a package, but he and his friend Morris end up being buried alive in Megiddo. [1] The audience is then introduced to Richard's son Mark and his second wife Ann. Now a teenager, Damien attends military school alongside Mark, while his subconscious, manifesting in the form of a raven, kills Richard's aunt Marion, Jennings's friend Joan Hart, and Thorn Industries manager Bill Atherton. Atherton's death is beneficial for senior manager Paul Buher, another member of the Satanist group Baylock was part of. Another member, Sgt. Neff, guides Damien to learn his true nature by advising him to read the Book of Revelation. Though fearful of it at first, unconsciously killing Dr. David Pasarian and a medical physician who tested his blood, Damien comes to accept his fate as he begins to consciously kill anyone who stands in his way, including his cousin Mark and Dr. Charles Warren. Though Richard accepted the truth upon receiving the Daggers of Megiddo from Bugenhagen's package, he is murdered by Ann; Damien then kills her, despite her being one of his disciples. [2]
The third film, The Final Conflict , follows the adult Damien, now head of his uncle's company and arranging his position as American Ambassador in Britain to prevent the Second Coming—which would gradually weaken his powers—by having his followers slaughter every male British child born on March 24. Though he managed to kill six of the seven monks who each brandish a Dagger of Megiddo, their leader Father DeCarlo lives. Damien unknowingly causes his own downfall by his association with a journalist named Kate Reynolds who kills him at his moment of weakness. As Damien's death did not occur in the manner that Bugenhagen learned, the Antichrist only suffered a temporary demise. [3]
In the fourth film of the original series, Omen IV: The Awakening , it is revealed that Damien's followers arranged for his biological daughter Delia to be adopted by two attorneys, Gene and Karen York. While nothing seems wrong at first, compared to her father, Delia is fully aware of her powers as she terrorizes her mother Karen. Karen finds herself pregnant and hires a private detective to find out about Delia's lineage. Along the way, she believes Delia is the Antichrist. A string of bizarre accidental deaths follows, before Karen gives birth to her son Alexander while falling into a paranoia as she tries to reveal her daughter's true identity. With the help of the private detective, Karen learns that Delia is the daughter of Damien Thorn while holding her family doctor, Dr. Hastings, at gunpoint. Upon learning Dr. Hastings is a Satanist, Karen learns that the reborn Antichrist is actually Alexander: Delia's twin brother whose embryo was inside Delia the entire time and implanted into Karen by Hastings. Though Karen adamantly wished to kill Alexander and tries to do so, the baby's powers cause her to commit suicide, leaving Alexander and Delia still alive to continue their birth father's work. [4]
The 2006 remake of the first film, also titled The Omen , was directed and produced by John Moore. Starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles, the film was met with mixed reviews but general box office success. With a budget of $25 million, the film grossed $54 million domestic and $64 million in other territories, totalling $119 million.
A prequel to the first film, titled The First Omen , was directed by Arkasha Stevenson and released in 2024. The film stars Nell Tiger Free as an American woman who is sent to work at a church in Rome but quickly uncovers a conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist. [5] The film was met with positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $53 million internationally.
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
Character | Films | Television series | |||||
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Original series | Remake | ||||||
The Omen | Damien Omen II | Omen III The Final Conflict | Omen IV The Awakening | The First Omen | The Omen | Damien | |
1976 | 1978 | 1981 | 1991 | 2024 | 2006 | 2016 | |
Damien Thorn | Harvey Spencer Stephens Noel O'Connell Y Uncredited infant Y | Jonathan Scott-Taylor | Sam Neill | Harvey Spencer Stephens A | Uncredited appearance | Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick Tomas Woller Y | Bradley James Harvey Spencer Stephens Y A |
Robert Thorn | Gregory Peck | Uncredited actor P Y | Gregory Peck P | Liev Schreiber | Gregory Peck A | ||
Katherine "Kathy" Thorn | Lee Remick | Mentioned | Rachel Hurd-Wood | Julia Stiles | Lee Remick A | ||
Carl Bugenhagen | Leo McKern | Leo McKern U | Michael Gambon | Leo McKern A | |||
Mrs. Willa Baylock | Billie Whitelaw | Mia Farrow | Billie Whitelaw A | ||||
Keith Jennings | David Warner | David Thewlis | David Warner A | ||||
Father Brennan | Patrick Troughton | Ralph Ineson | Pete Postlethwaite | Patrick Troughton A | |||
Father Spiletto | Martin Benson | Anton Alexander | Giovanni Lombardo Radice | Martin Benson A | |||
Brother Matteus | Tommy Duggan | Tommy Duggan | |||||
Nanny | Holly Palance | Holly Palance V | Amy Huck | Holly Palance A | |||
U.S. President | Gerald Ford A | Mason Adams | |||||
Ann Thorn (née Rutledge) | Lee Grant | Barbara Hershey |
Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Budget | References | ||||
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United States | International | Worldwide | ||||||
The Omen (1976) | June 6, 1976 | $60,922,980 | $17,800,000 R | $78,722,980 | $2.8 million | [6] [7] [8] | ||
Damien - Omen II | June 9, 1978 | $26,518,355 | $8,500,000 R | $35,018,355 | $6.8 million | [6] [9] [8] | ||
The Final Conflict | March 20, 1981 | $20,471,382 | — | $20,471,382 | $5 million | [6] [10] | ||
The Omen (2006) | June 6, 2006 | $54,607,383 | $64,889,140 | $119,496,523 | $25 million | [11] | ||
The First Omen | April 5, 2024 | $20,054,832 | $33,320,788 | $53,375,620 | $30 million | [12] | ||
Total | $182,574,932 | $124,509,928 | $307,084,860 | $69.6 million | ||||
List indicator(s) R Distributor rentals. [lower-alpha 1] In the US/Canada, The Omen had rentals of $28.5 million and Damien – Omen II $12.1 million. If the ratio of gross to rental applied to the international rental, the films grossed approximately $99 million and $45 million worldwide respectively.
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Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
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The Omen (1976) | 84% (51 reviews) [13] | 62 (11 reviews) [14] |
Damien - Omen II | 48% (27 reviews) [15] | 45 (9 reviews) [16] |
The Final Conflict | 29% (21 reviews) [17] | 34 (9 reviews) [18] |
Omen IV: The Awakening | 17% (6 reviews) [19] | — |
The Omen (2006) | 26% (168 reviews) [20] | 43 (34 reviews) [21] |
The First Omen | 81% (151 reviews) [22] | 65 (33 reviews) [23] |
A television pilot titled The Omen aired on NBC in September 8, 1995. Directed by Jack Sholder and written by John Leekley, the hour-long episode was intended as an attempt to develop The Omen film series into a television series. Although Donner was attached to the project as an executive producer, the pilot failed and the series never moved forward. [24] Unrelated to the previous films, The Omen follows a group of people who are tracking down an entity to which they are all independently linked. [25]
A television series called Damien was in development at the network Lifetime before it was moved to A&E with Bradley James starring in the title role. [26] [27] [28] The series aired from March 7 to May 9, 2016. The series, acting as a direct sequel to the original film, follows 30 year old Damien, who has forgotten his demonic past, facing his true identity. Ann Rutledge (Barbara Hershey), who has protected Damien all his life, helps him embrace his Antichrist side.
The Omen story chronology | |||
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Original continuity | |||
Alternate continuity | |||
Remake continuity | |||
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There are five novels in The Omen series, the first three being novelizations of their film counterparts:
Three documentaries regarding the series have been made: 666: The Omen - Revealed (2000), The Omen: Legacy (2001), and The Curse of The Omen (2005).
The 1976 film was also remade in Tamil as Jenma Natchathram (1991).
The Omen is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spencer Stephens, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson, and Leo McKern. The film's plot follows Damien Thorn, a young child replaced at birth by his father, unbeknownst to his wife, after their biological child dies shortly after birth. As a series of mysterious events and violent deaths occur around the family and Damien enters childhood, they come to learn he is in fact the prophesied Antichrist.
New Rose Hotel is a 1998 American erotic science fiction drama film co-written and directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento. It is based on William Gibson's 1984 short story of the same name.
Damien – Omen II is a 1978 supernatural horror film directed by Don Taylor. It is the sequel to The Omen, and the second installment of The Omen series. It stars William Holden and Lee Grant, with Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Robert Foxworth, Lew Ayres, Sylvia Sidney, Lance Henriksen, Ian Hendry, and Leo McKern. Set seven years after the first film, it follows a now-pubescent Damien Thorn (Scott-Taylor) as he begins to realize his destiny as the Antichrist.
Omen IV: The Awakening is a 1991 American supernatural horror television film directed by Jorge Montesi and Dominique Othenin-Girard and written by Brian Taggert, from a story by producer Harvey Bernhard and Taggert. The film is the fourth installment in The Omen series and the final installment of the original series. It stars Faye Grant, Michael Woods, Michael Lerner, and Asia Vieira. Its plot follows two attorneys who adopt a young girl, unaware of the fact that she is to possibly succeed Damien Thorn as the Antichrist.
The Omen is a 2006 American supernatural horror film directed by John Moore and written by David Seltzer. The fifth installment in The Omen series, it is a remake of the 1976 film of the same title, which was also written by Seltzer. This version stars Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Gambon, and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick in his feature film debut.
The Final Conflict is a 1981 supernatural horror film directed by Graham Baker and written by Andrew Birkin. It is the third installment in The Omen series. Starring Sam Neill, Lisa Harrow and Rossano Brazzi, the film tells the progression of the now adult Damien Thorn to a position of earthly power, set against the countdown to the Second Coming and attempts of a group of priests to kill the Antichrist. Richard Donner, director of the first film, returns as executive producer.
Damien Thorn is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of The Omen franchise. He is the Antichrist and the son of the Devil. The character has been portrayed by Harvey Spencer Stephens, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Sam Neill, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick and Bradley James.
Blade is a superhero film and television franchise based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Wesley Snipes as Blade in the original trilogy, and Sticky Fingaz in the television series. The original trilogy was directed by Stephen Norrington, Guillermo del Toro and David S. Goyer, the latter of whom also wrote the films and served as a co-writer for the first and last two episodes of the television series. The original films and television series were distributed by New Line Cinema from 1998 to 2006.
The Visitor is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Giulio Paradisi and based on a story by Egyptian-born Italian writer and producer Ovidio G. Assonitis. It features a cast of well-established stars including John Huston, Shelley Winters, Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen, and Sam Peckinpah with supporting appearances by Neal Boortz and Steve Somers. It was filmed on location in Atlanta, Georgia and at Cinecittà Studios in Rome. It has garnered a cult following over the years.
Lethal Weapon is an American buddy cop action-comedy media franchise created by Shane Black. It focuses on two Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. The franchise consists of a series of four films released between 1987 and 1998 and a television series which aired from 2016 to 2019. The four films were directed by Richard Donner and also share many of the same core cast members, while the television series is a reboot with different actors. Although the first film was not explicitly a comedy, the later films and the television series gradually became comedic in nature.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a series of family comedy films based on the book series of the same name by Jeff Kinney. It consists of four live action films and three animated films.
The Expendables is an American ensemble action thriller franchise conceived by David Callaham, spanning a film series, the first three ones cowritten by Sylvester Stallone, and additional media. The films star an ensemble cast, notably Stallone and Jason Statham, and are produced by Avi Lerner and Kevin King-Templeton. The film series, an acknowledgement of former blockbuster action films made in the 1980s and 1990s, also pays homage to action stars of former decades, and the more recent stars in action. The series consists of the films The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014), Expend4bles (2023), and an ongoing comic book series, The Expendables Go to Hell (2021). Though criticism with regard to plot and dialogue between characters has been expressed, critics praised the use of comic relief in between action.
A Satanic film is a subgenre of horror film, and at times other film genres, that involves the Devil as a concept or a character. Common themes/characters in Satanic film include the Antichrist, demonic possession, exorcism, and witchcraft.
Damien is an A&E television series based on the horror film series The Omen, which serves as a direct sequel to the 1976 film of the same name and ignores the film's various sequels. The show was ordered as a series on August 25, 2014, by Lifetime, but was moved to A&E on April 29, 2015, where it premiered on March 7, 2016.
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The First Omen is a 2024 American supernatural horror film directed by Arkasha Stevenson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas from a story by Ben Jacoby. It is a prequel to The Omen (1976), and the sixth film in The Omen franchise. The film stars Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy. The plot follows an American nun sent to work at a Catholic orphanage in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.