Disney+ Gets Its First R-Rated Horror Hit
While the Disney name is synonymous with animated princesses, the brand has been diversifying a lot in recent years. Since they added Star Wars and Marvel to their properties, they have a much bigger catalogue aimed at the general public. And now it seems Disney is open to expanding its audience even further, as they are even adding R-rated horror movies to their collection, like The First Omen which is currently trending on Disney+.
The First Omen, And Other R-Rated Content
At first glance, it might sound surprising that something as frightening as The First Omen would be something that Disney would be willing to feature on their streaming platform. However, they have been slowly dipping their toes into more adult-oriented content. After all, they did stand by allowing Deadpool & Wolverine to remain rated R like the previous two Deadpool films, so Disney seems to be changing to cater to wider audiences.
The First Omen Through Hulu On Disney+
Admittedly, in the case of The First Omen, it is not as if it were made for Disney+. It is merely part of some of the Hulu titles that subscribers can now also find on the platform. With the properties that Disney has acquired from 20th Century Fox, they also have a number of R-rated titles from them as well.
A Bold Business Move, But A Smart One
While a large part of Disney’s interest in the Fox properties was no doubt to acquire the cinematic rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, it would be a waste for Disney to not capitalize on their other acquisitions as well. And with one of the chief complaints about Disney+ and most other streaming services being their lack of content, featuring more movies like The First Omen should surely bring in more subscribers for Disney than any they might lose who have an aversion to R-rated films.
Prequel To A Horror Classic
The First Omen was released earlier this year back in April as a prequel to the 1976 classic The Omen. While the film did receive mostly positive reviews from critics, it did have a pretty modest box office of just $53.7 million against a $30 million budget. However, The First Omen seems to already have a surprisingly interested audience on Disney+, as it is currently the number 10 movie on the platform in terms of trending popularity.
That has to be reassuring to Disney that they made the right move and that their audiences are interested in seeing more such content.
A Pivot To Adult Content?
Perhaps if Deadpool & Wolverine does well in its theatrical run, Disney will feel encouraged to do more R-rated original projects in the future. Their strategy of doing live-action remakes of their animated classics appears to have worn out its welcome with many fans, so maybe shifting over to more content aimed at adults is how their brand can continue to grow. If the trending success of The First Omen is anything to go by, Disney has to at least be considering it.
In the meantime, you can join the many others in checking out The First Omen on Disney+ (available through Hulu add-on) yourself to see how it compares to the original.
