Universal Pictures built its legacy with horror movies featuring Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man during the heydays of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in the 1930s and '40s. More recently, the studio has made a well-publicized bet that it can create a series of successful films by bringing those creatures back from the dead. But its long-gestating plan to transform old-school monsters into modern-day blockbusters hit a snag last weekend, as the big-budget Tom Cruise movie "The Mummy" flopped at the domestic box office. The weak opening underscores the challenges facing studios as they seek to revive old franchises for contemporary audiences that have more options than going to the multiplex. "This is a brand they're trying to create, and it's a horrible start," said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "There is a learning curve, and that's what Universal will probably write this off as." Studios have always relied on sequels and reboots to capitalize on the popularity of well-known material.

I come here not to praise The Mummy but to re-bury it. Tom Cruise remains a movie star no matter what kind of nonsense tries to bring him down. If he can survive that thing with the couch, he can survive anything. But the failure-to-launch of The Mummy would jeopardize more than careers and studio marketing budgets. The movie is supposed to start up the Dark Universe, Universal Studios' multi-movie franchise starring its monsters of yore.

Today in Entertainment: Billy Bush regrets that'Access Hollywood' flap; 'Twin Peaks' fans left slack-jawed over the reboot And in today's installment of Netflix vs. Cannes Film Festival... Billy Bush says his daughter was especially upset about that'Access Hollywood' tape'Twin Peaks' fans pretty much loved every minute of Sunday night's premiere'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' sparked serious debate at the Cannes film fest John Oliver has a name for Trump's week of scandal: 'Stupid Watergate' Billy Bush says his daughter was especially upset about that'Access Hollywood' tape'Twin Peaks' fans pretty much loved every minute of Sunday night's premiere'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' sparked serious debate at the Cannes film fest John Oliver has a name for Trump's week of scandal: 'Stupid Watergate' Universal Pictures doesn't want to be the only Hollywood studio without a sexy film franchise that it can spin off forever and ever until there's nothing left but action figures and ash. Warner Bros. has its rapidly expanding DC Comics world, Disney has the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now Universal has its newly remodeled monster-verse. The studio is reviving the classic Universal monsters for a scary new world officially titled the Dark Universe. We know only a little about who (or what) Universal will be resurrecting from its vault (which includes a plethora of creepy crawlies from the Wolfman to Frankenstein). However, the official press release confirms that this new world will officially kick off June 9 with the Tom Cruise action film "The Mummy."