2025 was filled with Stephen King adaptations. While that is not surprising, since the horror king is also an extremely prolific writer and Hollywood jumps at any opportunity to adapt his work, all of last year’s many King movies and TV shows had high potential.
The first one was also among the best Stephen King films in years: The Monkey. With Longlegs director Osgood “Oz” at the helm, the movie adapted King’s 1980 short story of the same name and made a switch from horror to dark comedy. Following the film’s positive reception and great box office run, The Monkey also became a certified streaming hit on Hulu.
How The Monkey Became an Instant Streaming Darling
Hulu
The Monkey premiered in theaters on Feb. 21, 2025, and was released by Neon. The dark comedy debuted on Hulu on Aug. 7, and it didn’t waste any time in reaching the No. 1 spot.
The Stephen King adaptation debuted in third place on Aug. 8, and immediately headed to the top of the charts in the U.S. on its second day. Just shy of one full year later, The Monkey remains one of King’s greatest and most underrated adaptations in years. The film faithfully adapted elements from the original text while adding a fresh new spin. It comes as little surprise that the picture has managed to hold up in a landscape where many films come and go without leaving much of a cultural footprint before being replaced by the next big thing.
What Is The Monkey About?
A monkey toy beats a drum in The Monkey.via Neon
The Monkey follows twin brothers Bill and Hal, who discover a drum-playing toy monkey in their father’s belongings, which leads to many horrific and random deaths. Theo James starred in a dual role as twin brothers Bill and Hall, and the cast included Tatiana Maslany, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, and Elijah Wood.
The Monkey marked the first Stephen King adaptation of 2025, and received positive reviews from critics. The film features a Certified Fresh 77% approval score from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it received mixed reviews from audiences, holding an unfortunate rating of 55%.
Produced on a budget of $11 million, The Monkey grossed over five times as much, ending its run with $63.7 million worldwide, making it very profitable for Neon. On top of that, The Monkey also had approval from the author himself.
Director Oz Perkins previously noted King had a positive reaction to the changes in the adaptations, including the switch from horror to dark comedy. “The thing is, humor and horror are Siamese twins,” King explained. “They’re very close. I think that it stops being funny when it starts being you.”
King added, “Oz [Perkins] is right when he says that the deaths are like Wile E. Coyote,” the author continued. “Man, there are a couple of things in this movie that just made me howl. I mean, I just sort of hate myself for howling, but I howled nonetheless.”
2025 Was Filled With Stephen King Adaptations
Image via Neon
2025 kicked off with The Monkey, but the year had lots in store for King enthusiasts. Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck officially hit theaters in the summer of 2025 and recently became available on digital platforms, and MGM+ also released The Institute, which is still a major success on the streaming charts.
Last year also saw the release of The Running Man and The Long Walk. The Running Man is the second adaptation of King’s 1982 novel of the same name, after the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Long Walk had been attempted several times before Francis Lawrence finally made it happen, and it was arguably the most gut-wrenching movie of 2025.
The Monkey is streaming on Hulu.
Release Date
February 21, 2025
Runtime
97 minutes
Director
Osgood Perkins
