Change takes time in Hollywood and while success brings lots of imitators, it does not happen over night. In the summer of 1976 only one film followed in the wake of Jaws, with a wide release and massive advertising, and that film was The Omen.
On June 25, 1976 The Omen opened in 515 theatres and made $4.2 million in it's first three days of release. It ended up being the fourth highest grossing film of 1976, with ticket sales over $60 million. On a budget of $2.8 million the film was hugely profitable for 20th Century Fox. It is one of the first movies where the marketing and advertising cost as much as the actual production. The studio had seven different posters to advertise the movie. The film's box office was limited by it's "R" rating. I tried to go see it and was turned away at the box office.
The Omen was the third in a series of big budget pictures about demonic children. The first was 1968's Rosemary's Baby and the second was The Exorcist in 1973. The movie received great reviews and was noted for some of it's more gruesome violence, especially the scene of a man being decapitated by a sheet of glass. The film popularized stories from the Book of Revelations and in particular, the numbers "666" and the name Damien as a name for the anti-christ. It is now considered a horror classic.
Surprisingly the producers of the film were able to attract to big name stars, Gregory Peck and Lee Remick and they helped give the film credibility and bring in box office.
The film won an Oscar for Best Musical score, written by Jerry Goldsmith, and was nominated for Best Song, for the haunting Ave Satani, a choral chant in Latin.
The film spawned two theatrical sequels and one made for TV sequel. A series of books and then finally a remake which was released on 6/6/06.
My first exposure to this film was on HBO at my friend Tony's house the following year. I saw the sequel Damien: Omen II and then made my first attempt at screenwriting by concocting a script for a third sequel (which was pretty good if I do say so myself) I still have the rejection letter from the producers.
At The Movie House rating ****stars
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