Summary

• M. Night Shyamalan's "Trap" emerged as the clear winner over Ishana's "The Watchers" in both quality and box office success.
• "Trap" showcased Shyamalan's storytelling prowess, earning higher Rotten Tomatoes scores and suring "The Watchers" at the box office.
• While M. Night's success is evident, "The Watchers" was a promising debut for Ishana, hinting at a bright future for the Shyamalan family.

2024 gave audiences two new movies from the Shyamalan family with The Watchers, adapting A.M. Shine's fantasy book. The dual 2024 releases set up a showdown for the Shyamalan family.

Although The Watchers and Trap were released months apart, the Shyamalan family link between them made comparisons inevitable. There was great interest to see how similar or different Ishana's directorial style would be compared to her father's. Furthermore, seeing how the two different movies would fare financially was also viewed as a key part in Trap and The Watchers' box office battle. While a winner could only be predicted previously, the two movies have now both been released and received by viewers. And the response makes M. Night Shyamalan and Trap the winner over Ishana and The Watchers.

M. Night Shyamalan's Trap Is A Better Movie Than Ishana Shyamalan's The Watchers

M. Night Delivered The Stronger Movie

When it comes to declaring M. Night Shyamalan and Trap the winner, the quality on display is a big reason why. Although it might not be for everyone, M. Night still has the greater skills as a storyteller at this stage. He knew how to make his latest movie thrilling from the start all the way until Trap's ending, delivering a few twists along the way as usual. The movie is bolstered by a strong performance from Josh Hartnett, a great soundtrack of Lady Raven songs, and an overall strong execution of its base premise.

The Watchers is a movie that I still quite enjoyed, even if it was not as good as Trap in my book. Ishana's fantasy thriller does a good job of setting up plenty of intrigue with its story and characters, even if its execution of the plot gets a bit messy. The learning curve of a first-time director can be seen here and there, including when it comes to figuring out The Watchers' ending and wrapping up the main story. It's certainly a promising showing for Ishana as a director, but M. Night's greater experience and filmmaking abilities are clear.

Trap Is A Bigger Box Office Success Than The Watchers

The Watchers Was A Bigger Risk

In addition to making the better movie, M. Night Shyamalan also has the bigger box office success with Trap compared to Ishana Shyamalan's The Watchers. M. Night Shyamalan's movies are often strong bets to do well at the box office thanks to how familiar audiences are with his movies after the last few decades of surprises. Trap has so far made $45.3 million worldwide against its reported $30 million budget (via Deadline). This has been done after it made $15.4 million in its opening weekend domestically. It's made $28.6 million domestically overall and added $16.7 million internationally.

In comparison, The Watchers only made $32.9 million at the box office overall. The movie had a disappointing opening weekend at only $7 million domestically. It only managed to stay in theaters for about a month, leaving its domestic box office total at just $19 million. The Watchers did fare okay internationally by adding another $13.9 million. But, Trap has still already managed to sur The Watchers' box office total worldwide in less than two weeks.

It appears that Trap is also on track to be a box office success, whereas The Watchers was not. Ishana's directorial debut carried a reported budget of $30 million (via Forbes), matching Trap, so its box office total barely managed to make more than the cost. Strictly based on its box office performance, The Watchers did not turn a profit then, although it could still become profitable over time through VOD and other revenue streams. Trap should be able to the $60 million mark it needs to be a box office success, which is a win for M. Night's movie.

Trap's Rotten Tomatoes Scores Are Higher Than The Watchers'

Both Are Still Rotten For Critics

Another victory for M. Night Shyamalan and Trap against Ishana and The Watchers comes with Rotten Tomatoes. The former received stronger reviews from critics and audiences alike compared to the latter. Although critics were still mixed overall, Trap received a 55% score on the Tomatometer. General audiences were a bit more positive, with it receiving a 65% Audience Score from verified ratings. Those are both stronger numbers than The Watchers received. Trap's reviews often praise Harnett's performance, Shyamalan's unique tone, and the grounded thriller elements, while the effectiveness of the humor and third-act revelations are called into question too.

Reviews were generally a bit harsher on The Watchers. The movie earned a 32% on the Tomatometer from critics, with the biggest criticism often being the script, which Ishana wrote. Her ability as a director to capture the creepy fantasy tone is notable, but the movie's flaws are still apparent. Audiences were more receptive to it overall, but the 55% Audience Score is still in the "rotten" range and below how her father's film was received. That leaves Trap as the superior film critically, even if neither Shyamalan movie managed to earn a majority of positive reviews.

2024 Is Still A Promising Tease For The Shyamalan Family's Future

The Shyamalan's All Have Great Futures

M. Night Shyamalan might be the family winner after Trap, but 2024 is still a sign of how much promise exists within the family's future overall. M. Night is still an exciting voice in Hollywood who can surprise in various ways. Trap is another sign that he still is more than capable of delivering solid-to-great thrillers based on his own original concepts. That is hopefully something that he will continue to explore after his work here, even if a Trap sequel happens down the road too.

M. Night Shyamalan's next movie after Trap is not confirmed

Meanwhile, Ishana Shyamalan proved with The Watchers that she is someone to keep an eye on as her career continues. The experience gained by writing and directing her first feature film is invaluable. There is reason to believe, or hope, that Ishana will only grow as a filmmaker in the years to come and learn all the right lessons from The Watchers. Perhaps this is all a necessary stepping stone to Ishana delivering a major breakthrough movie sooner than later, similar to what The Sixth Sense did for M. Night's career after directing two movies previously.

It's also worth noting that Saleka Shyamalan made her acting debut among Trap's cast and showcased her talent. She might be better known for her music career at this point, but Saleka played a much larger role than expected. It's unknown if more acting roles are in her future, but Trap suggests that she could find success in this career path too. If that happens, the Shyamalan family could look back at 2024 and Trap and The Watchers' releases as a significant point for them. M. Night has to be proud of his family at the very least.

Sources: Deadline, Forbes