| The Omen | |
| Creator: | David Seltzer |
| Years: | 1976 - present |
| Origin: | The Omen (1976) |
| Owner: | 20th Century Studios |
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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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original series | ||||||
| 1976 | The Omen | Richard Donner | David Seltzer | Harvey Bernhard | 111 min | |
| 1978 | Damien - Omen II | Stanley Mann and Mike Hodges | 107 min | |||
| 1981 | The Final Conflict | Graham Baker | Andrew Birkin | Harvey Bernhard and Richard Donner | 108 min | |
| 1991 | Jorge Montesi and Dominique Othenin-Girard | Harvey Bernhard | Harvey Bernhard and Mace Neufeld | 97 min | ||
| 2024 | The First Omen | Arkasha Stevenson | David S. Goyer and Keith Levine | 119 min | ||
| Remake | ||||||
| 2006 | The Omen | John Moore | David Seltzer | Glen Williamsonn and John Moore | 107 min | |
The second film, Damien - Omen II, starts with Bugenhagen attempting to send Richard 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, , 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.
| Character | Films | Television series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original series | Remake | |||||||
| The Omen | Omen II | The Final Conflict | The Awakening | The First Omen | The Omen | Damien | ||
| 1976 | 1978 | 1981 | 1991 | 2024 | 2006 | 2016 | ||
| Damien Thorn | Harvey Spencer Stephens | Jonathan Scott-Taylor | Sam Neill | Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick | Bradley James | |||
| Robert Thorn | Gregory Peck | Liev Schreiber | ||||||
| Katherine "Kathy" Thorn | Lee Remick | Rachel Hurd-Wood | Julia Stiles | |||||
| Carl Bugenhagen | Leo McKern | Michael Gambon | ||||||
| Mrs. Willa Baylock | Billie Whitelaw | Mia Farrow | ||||||
| Keith Jennings | David Warner | David Thewlis | ||||||
| Father Brennan | Patrick Troughton | Ralph Ineson | Pete Postlethwaite | |||||
| Father Spiletto | Martin Benson | Anton Alexander | Giovanni Lombardo Radice | |||||
| Brother Matteus | Tommy Duggan | Tommy Duggan | ||||||
| Nanny | Holly Palance | Amy Huck | ||||||
| U.S. President | Mason Adams | |||||||
| Ann Thorn (née Rutledge) | Lee Grant | Barbara Hershey | ||||||
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Budget | References | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | International | Worldwide | |||||||
| The Omen (1976) | $60,922,980 | $17,800,000 | $78,722,980 | $2.8 million | [6] [7] [8] | ||||
| Damien - Omen II | $26,518,355 | $8,500,000 | $35,018,355 | $6.8 million | [9] | ||||
| The Final Conflict | $20,471,382 | $20,471,382 | $5 million | [10] | |||||
| The Omen (2006) | $54,607,383 | $64,889,140 | $119,496,523 | $25 million | [11] | ||||
| The First Omen | $20,054,832 | $33,320,788 | $53,375,620 | $30 million | [12] | ||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | $69.6 million | |||||
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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] | ||
| style+"text-align:center;" | 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]
See main article: Damien (TV series). 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.
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).