‘Alien: Romulus’ Roaring To $40M-$42M+ Opening – Saturday Box Office Update

https://deadline.com/2024/08/box-office-alien-romulus-1236042166/

18 comments

  1. 20th Century Studios’ Fede Alvarez directed Alien: Romulus is still looking at the 45-year old franchise’s second biggest opening with $40M-$42M for the weekend after an $18M Friday. Disney has bragging rights for second place in the fourth weekend of Deadpool & Wolverine at $27M, -50%, while Sony/Wayfarer Studios’ It Ends With Us second weekend takes third with $24M, -52%.

    An great late summer weekend in August at $136.6M, that’s 36% ahead of the same frame last year, and 13% ahead of the same pre-Covid August weekend in 2019.

    The expectation is that Alien: Romulus will hold at -23% today off it’s Friday/preview figure which is around what Alien: Covenant, the previous chapter, back in 2017. Alien: Romulus gets at B+ CinemaScore, which is better than Alien: Covenant‘s B, but still behind the franchise’s best which was James Cameron’s 1986 Aliens which scored an A. Still not bad.

    PLF and Imax are accounting for 52% of ticket sales so far for an audience that’s very dude at 70% male, 25-34 being the biggest demo at 33% with 18-34 attending at 60%. Diversity mix is 43% Caucasian, 26% Latino and Hispanic, 14% Black, 12% Asian and 6% NatAm/Other. Alien: Romulus is playing the best in the West, Mountain and South Central with the AMC Lincoln Square the highest grossing venue stateside with close to $70K so far.

    Social media monitor RelishMix counts 246.8 followers across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram for Alien: Romulus, 12% ahead of other action sci-fi genres, yet behind Alien: Covenant‘s 352M followers. Social media charged cast members are Isabela Merced at 5.7M fans, Archie Renaux at 576K and Cailee Spaeny at 393K. Despite the overperformance here, RelishMix noticed mixed chatter for the installment in the walk-up to opening with some of the upbeat praise centering around fans’ respect for Alvarez “honoring the legacy of the original two Alien films. ‘Fede Alvarez understood the assignment,’ and, ‘I am actually intrigued by this and how it expands on the existing mystery of the Alien.’ Others have highlighted the aesthetic and atmospheric elements of the trailer, sharing, ‘The use of what looks like quite a lot of practical effects is amazing,’ and, ‘Dark and ominous, can’t wait!’”

    Best opening for an Alien movie goes to Ridley Scott’s 2012 Prometheus which posted a first day of $21.4M in previews/Friday for a $51M 3-day. Of the negative buzz that RelishMix observed were some people’s ire that Scott wasn’t completing his Prometheus trilogy.

    Alvarez told us on Crew Call, he pitched his vision for Alien to former ScottFree executive Michael Schaeffer after a Neill Blomkamp version which would have seen the return of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, fell apart.

    Top 10 chart:

    1.) Alien: Romulus (Disney) 3,885 theaters, Fri $18M, 3-day $40M-$42M/Wk 1

    2.) Deadpool & Wolverine (Disney) 3,960 (-370) theaters, Fri $8.1M (-48%) 3-day $27M (-50%), Total $543.8M/Wk 4

    3.) It Ends With Us (Sony) 3,739 (+128) theaters, Fri $7.7M (-68%) 3-day $24M (-52%), Total $97.7M/Wk 2

    4.) Twisters (Uni/WB) 3,483 (-181) theaters, $2.75M (-39%), 3-day $9.2M (-39%), Total $237.8M/Wk 5

    5.) Coraline (Fath) 1,535 theaters, Fri $2.69M 3-day $8.3M, Total $11.4M/Wk 1

    6.) Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 2,788 (-221) theaters, Fri $1.57M (-39%) 3-day $5.5M (-31%), Total $339.9M/Wk 7

    7.) Trap (WB) 3,181 theaters, Fri $1M (-51%) 3-day $3.25M (-51%), Total $35M /Wk 3

    8.) Inside Out 2 (Disney) 1,850 (-350) theaters Fri $820K (-47%) 3-day $2.9M (-40%) Total $641.8M/Wk 10

    9.) Borderlands (LG) 3,125 theaters, Fri $680K (-83%), 3-day $2.2M (-74%), Total $13.3M/Wk 2

    10.) Stree 2 (Parth) 666 theaters, Fri $600K, 3-day $2M, Total $2.4M/Wk 1

  2. Not surprised at all and well-deserved (I saw it last night). The director has a deep passion for the franchise & worked with Scott on the production, and it shows.

    Romulus captures the dark and retro future aesthetic of Alien, injects plenty of action like Aliens, then goes completely bonkers in new ways in its third act. It does an excellent job of naturally peppering in background narrative on xenomorphs and even tastefully ties the plot in with Prometheus.

    It isn’t a perfect movie but damn this is probably in my top 3 from the franchise.

  3. I really enjoyed it, a couple aspects I didn’t like but it’s easily the best since alien 3

  4. I don’t care what anyone says. I think it was a fantastic film!

  5. I think most importantly is that this movie makes the mediocre films in the franchise somewhat more appealing with its additions of Prometheus lore, etc.

  6. it was disgusting, and good, so very good and very disgusting.

  8. honestly this seems like a bright return to the franchise. after prey 2 years ago and this, alien/predator franchise is BACK in a big way

  10. My theater does half price tickets on Tuesday so we’re waiting until then. Looks like it’ll be amazing in the IMAX size too

  11. Watched it last night. It was the first movie we’ve seen in a theater since last year, and it was soooo worth it.

    Some of the CGI was a little funky, but the story, the horror, and the tension were all faithful to and honored the franchise. I loved seeing how they perfected the “old sci-fi” look in the ship’s tech. It didn’t feel cheesy or forced; it just fit into the Alien universe. Def go watch it in theaters if you can. I wanna go again to see it in IMAX this time.

  12. Wife and I watched the entire franchise including the AVP films. We concluded the absolute worst ones were alien 3 and AVP requiem. Total trash. Honestly my favorite was aliens. Really glad this is apparently a good one.. can’t wait!!

  13. Heh my mom thought Ripley should’ve been in this one but I told her Ripley is currently in that 50yr hypersleep.

  14. Movie was ok. Would have been better with an age diverse crew and not a bunch of actors that look like they’re just out of high school (yes, I know most are mid-late 20s, they still look like teens)

    Actor that played Andy was fantastic though.

  15. Apart from kids having a spaceship???

    The movie was great 🍿

  17. I saw this movie in at the Phoenix Theaters and I gotta say, the Dolby Atmos sound really brings you into the movie. I think in terms of the franchise for me my current favorites are Aliens, Alien and Alien Romulus by a wide margin.

    Romulus really was probably my third favorite in the franchise of a franchise that holds two MONSTER movies in Alien and Aliens. I honestly think Aliens is the best horror movie of the 80’s hands down. That’s from a era that holds gargantuan titles like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Predator, Friday the 13th.

    Romulus had excellent practical effects, immersive sound moments, fantastic jump scares, terrifying moments, high octane action, and loads of bonkers moments.

    I think the third act felt rushed a bit? A lot of things happen that don’t make a lot of sense but it manages to keep it together well enough to be an excellent addition to the franchise.

    It definitely makes me look forward to the future of the franchise.

  18. My favorite part of the movie was people in the audience audible saying “oh hell no” or being squeamish

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