The Monkey (2025) vs. Primate (2026): Is It a Sequel? The Definitive Comparison

Is Primate a Sequel to The Monkey? No.

Primate is not a sequel to The Monkey. They are barely in the same genre. One is a ghost story about a toy, and the other is a survival thriller about a chimp with rabies.

First, we had Neon dropping The Monkey back in February 2025. It was weird. It was funny. It made $69 million because audiences love the dark comedy and cursed toy.

 Now, Paramount just dropped Primate In January 2026. The poster may look and sound familiar. But they are not.

Are Primate and The Monkey Related?

These films come from rival studios. Neon released The Monkey as an indie darling. Paramount released Primate as a big studio popcorn flick. There is no corporate handshake here.

Think of it like Deep Blue Sea and Jaws. Both have sharks. That does not mean they are the same movie.

The Premise

The Monkey (2025)

The Monkey is a supernatural dark comedy. It is about twin brothers dealing with a cursed object.

It was produced by James Wan under his Atomic Monster banner.

Primate (2026)

Primate is a creature feature. It is a gritty survival thriller. It is about a family trapped in a house with a wild animal.

It was produced by Walter Hamada under 18Hz Productions.

The Primate movie sequel rumors are just that. Rumors. There is no Monkey connection. There is no shared universe where the toy turns into a real chimp.

If you go into Primate expecting the witty banter of the first movie, you will be disappointed. You are getting blood and guts instead.

The Universe Comparison

Toy vs. Beast: Is the Monkey in Primate Real or a Toy?

The biggest difference is the killer. We call this the villain mechanic. It changes how you get scared.

The Monkey (Cursed Toy)

In The Monkey, the villain is a toy. It is a vintage wind-up monkey holding cymbals.

It sits on a shelf. It does not move. It does not chase you.

The horror comes from bad luck. You wind the key. The monkey bangs the drum. Someone dies in a freak accident.

A guy slips on oil. A harpoon gun goes off by mistake. It is like Final Destination. The toy is just the trigger.

It is a cursed object found in an attic.

Ben (Chimpanzee)

In Primate, the villain is Ben. Ben is very real.

Ben is a biological chimpanzee. He is not a toy. He is an apex predator.

The movie tells us he is five times stronger than a human.

Ben does not wait for bad luck. He creates it. He chases people down hallways.

He’s trained and smart. He bites. He uses his bare hands to kill people.

This is a classic live chimp horror movie setup. The scare comes from the physical threat. You are running from a monster that can outrun you.

Villains Key Defference

The kill mechanism is totally different. The toy causes accidents that kill. Ben uses his teeth. Ben is infected with a mutated form of rabies after a mongoose bite. He is not cursed. He is sick.

If you want a Primate movie, Ben fact: he is played by an actor in a suit with animatronics. The director wanted him to feel heavy and dangerous. The toy in the other movie was just a prop.

The Stephen King Connection: Which Movie is King?

This is where everyone gets tripped up. Stephen King is the biggest name in horror. Both movies use his shadow to sell tickets. But only one paid for the rights.

The King Clarification

The Official Adaptation

The Monkey is the real deal. It is an official adaptation of a Stephen King short story. You can find the original text in his collection Skeleton Crew (1985).

But filmmakers changed a lot. They added jokes. They changed the ending. But the core idea of a cursed toy haunting two brothers is pure King.

That is why the posters said “Stephen King’s The Monkey.” The studio leaned heavily on this. It legitimized the film.

The Unofficial Homage

Primate is a different story. It is an original screenplay. There is no Stephen King book called Primate. The script was written by Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera.

But the director, Johannes Roberts, is a huge King fan. He admitted in interviews that this movie is basically Cujo with a monkey.

Think about it. In Cujo, a friendly dog gets bitten by a rabid bat and traps a family in a car. In Primate, a friendly chimp gets bitten by a rabid mongoose and traps a family in a pool.

So is Primate based on book material? No. It is an homage. It is stealing the vibe without stealing the plot. Audiences see the style and assume it is part of a King Cinematic Universe. It is not.

Directors: Perkins vs. Roberts

You need to know who is driving the car. These two directors have totally different styles.

The Arthouse Guy

Osgood Perkins directed The Monkey. He is the son of horror legend Anthony Perkins from Psycho. He likes slow movies. He likes weird atmospheres.

He made Longlegs. He made The Blackcoat’s Daughter. He treats horror like high art. He wanted The Monkey to be a strange, funny trip.

The Popcorn Guy

the Resident Evil reboot.

He likes jump scares. He likes loud noises. He wants you to spill your popcorn. He approached Primate as a serious creature feature. He wanted nonstop tension.

Director Comparison

The Box Office

Let’s look at the numbers. Money tells the real story.

The Monkey was a sleeper hit. It cost about $11 million to make. It grossed nearly $69 million globally. It was efficient. It proved people wanted horror.

Primate had a bigger hill to climb. It cost between $21 million and $24 million. That money went to the animatronics and the location shoot in Hawaii. It opened to about $11 million domestically.

Final Thoughts

Primate is a standalone beast. It is a creature feature for people who like Crawl or Beast. It is for people who want to see a man fight a monkey.

The Monkey is a supernatural fable for people who like Stephen King. It is for people who want to laugh at a decapitation. They are the two faces of horror. The Ghost and the Beast. You can like both. Just do not call them a franchise.

More On Primate:

• Primate (2026) Ending Explained: Does Ben Die? Survivors List & Lucy Bad Meaning
• Primate (2026) True Story: Is Ben Based on Travis the Chimp?