‘Alien: Romulus’ Ends ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’s’ Three-Week Box Office Reign With $41.5 Million Debut (2024)

“Alien: Romulus” ripped into the domestic box office with $41.5 million, marking the second-highest start in the long-running “Alien” franchise. Those ticket sales were enough for the newest chapter in Disney and 20th Century’s sci-fi horror sagato end the three-week reign of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which just overtook “Joker” as the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history with $1.14 billion.

These achievements are capping off Disney’s stellar summer streak, which ignited with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (May’s highest grossing movie with $397 million) and continued through “Inside Out 2” (June’s highest grossing movie with $1.597 billion) and “Deadpool & Wolverine” (July’s highest grossing movie with $1.14 billion). The studio earlier this month became the first of 2024 to surpass $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales and should continue to pad that total with “Moana 2” (Nov. 27) and “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Dec. 20) on the calendar through the year’s end. It’s an encouraging turnaround after Disney’s 2023 was comprised of commercial disappointments, such as “The Marvels,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “The Haunted Mansion” remake and the animated “Wish.”

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“Alien: Romulus” collected $66.7 million at the international box office for a global start of $108.2 million. The R-rated movie has been well received by critics (it holds an 82% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (who awarded the film a “B+” grade on CinemaScore), which bodes well for its theatrical run.

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“This is an excellent opening for a […] film this deep into its series,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research.“In 1979, the first film elevated the quality of creature filmmaking. 45 years later, the story still resonates. This is elite and impressive business.”

Fede Alvarez (“Don’t Breathe”) directed the seventh installment in the gruesome, otherworldly franchise, which kicked off in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s “Alien.” It cost $80 million and follows a group of young intergalactic colonists (Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux and Isabela Merced among them) who come face to face with a terrifying life form while they’re scavenging a rundown space station. In terms of inaugural ticket sales, “Alien: Romulus” improved upon the start of 2017’s “Alien: Covenant” ($36 million) and 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” ($38.3 million) but fell short of 2012’s “Prometheus” (a series-best $51 million).

“Alien: Romulus” was the weekend’s only new nationwide release since Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2” (originally dated for Aug. 16) was taken off the calendar. “Chapter 1,” which cost $100 million, misfired in June with a dismal $32 million globally, prompting its backers to halt plans for the sequel’s release. Otherwise, holdover titles rounded out domestic box office charts.

Though it was a close race, “Deadpool & Wolverine” pulled ahead of Sony’s romantic drama “It Ends With Us” to land in second place. Marvel’s superhero adventure, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, added a mighty $29 million in its fourth outing, a 46% dip from last weekend. It has grossed a mammoth $545.8 million in North America and $596.8 million internationally to date.

“It Ends With Us” also scored another big weekend with $24 million from 3,739 theaters in its sophomore frame, declining 52% from its huge $50 million debut. The adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s literary sensation, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (who also directed), is nearing the $100 million mark domestically with $97.7 million to date. Globally, “It Ends With Us” has earned a remarkable $180 million after only 10 days of release. Sony Pictures and Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios co-financed the film for $25 million.

Universal’s disaster epic “Twisters” landed in fourth place with $9.8 million from 3,483 locations in its fifth weekend in theaters, dropping just 35% from its prior outing. Notably, the film is also available this weekend to rent on premium video-on-demand, which didn’t appear to cut into ticket sales. “Twisters,” led by Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos as storm chasers in central Oklahoma, has generated an impressive $238.4 million in North America and $333.4 million worldwide.

A 15th-anniversary re-release of “Coraline,” Laika’s beloved stop-motion animation fantasy film, rounded out the top five with $8.9 million from 1,535 venues. It has grossed roughly $11.3 million since returning to theaters on Thursday.

VIP+ Analysis: ‘Borderlands’ Blunder Proves Hollywood Hasn’t Mastered Adapting Video Games

Elsewhere, Lionsgate’s video game adaptation “Borderlands” continued to crater at the box office. The dismally reviewed film, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Ariana Greenblatt, plummeted to ninth place with $2.35 million from 3,125 theaters in its second weekend of release. So far, “Borderlands” has collected a tragic $13 million in North America. It cost $115 million to produce (a portion of which was covered by international sales, according to the studio) and stands as one of the biggest theatrical misfires of the year.

‘Alien: Romulus’ Ends ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’s’ Three-Week Box Office Reign With $41.5 Million Debut (2024)

FAQs

How much did Alien Romulus make at the box office? ›

It's Early On, But Still Successful
Alien: Romulus Box Office Numbers
BudgetDomestic OpeningWorldwide Total
$80 million$41.5 million$108.2 million
4 days ago

What is Alien Romulus rated? ›

While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. Rated R for bloody violent content and language.

Did Alien have a low budget? ›

Alien was greenlit by 20th Century-Fox, with an initial budget of $4.2 million. Alien was funded by North Americans, but made by 20th Century-Fox's British production subsidiary. O'Bannon had originally assumed that he would direct Alien, but 20th Century-Fox instead asked Hill to direct.

What is the highest-grossing Alien movie? ›

The biggest opening for an Alien movie remains the 2012 Ridley Scott directed prequel Prometheus at $51M. Fans showed up at 71% men, with 54% over 25. The 18-34 crowd repped 54% of the audience.

Is Alien: Romulus expected to be good? ›

Alien: Romulus represents a huge victory, successfully and faithfully reviving one of the best sci-fi/horror series of all time for longtime fans as well as a new generation of audiences.

Is Alien: Romulus gory? ›

Even though the film is gory, most of the gore is essentially obscured due to dark lighting or not being in focus and doesn't linger on for too long.

Is Alien: Romulus filming? ›

Principal photography took place in Budapest from March 9 to July 3, 2023. The film was filmed chronologically and utilized practical effects. Álvarez consulted Alien director Ridley Scott and Aliens director James Cameron during the film's production, who both expressed approval.

Who was the highest paid actor in Alien? ›

Sigourney Weaver Made Over $16 Million For The Alien Movies

Across the four Alien movies she starred in, Weaver made over $16 million in total. Being a relative unknown in the first movie saw her make $35,000, despite being the main character.

What is the highest paid box office movie? ›

With a worldwide box-office gross of over $2.9 billion, Avatar is proclaimed to be the "highest-grossing" film, but such claims usually refer to theatrical revenues only and do not take into account home video and television income, which can form a significant portion of a film's earnings.

Which horror movie earn the most at the box office? ›

Highest-grossing horror films
RankFilmWorldwide gross
1It$702,781,748
2The Sixth Sense$672,806,292
3I Am Legend$585,532,684
4World War Z$540,007,876
46 more rows

How much money did alien make? ›

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