It’s crazy how a few months of box office results can change one’s perspective. After back-to-back flops in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Garfield, many assumed Hollywood was dead and buried. Now, summer 2024 is looking quite lucrative, especially for Disney, which just scored its third straight hit with Alien: Romulus.
Fede Álvarez’s sci-fi horror sequel/prequel dethroned Deadpool & Wolverine at the top of the domestic and global box office after earning $41.5 million in North America and $108.2M worldwide — a massive win for a film that was initially slated for a Hulu release. Early tracking suggested a $75M worldwide opening, but thanks to a terrific marketing campaign, the ninth film in the long-running franchise blasted through expectations and will likely give the Mouse House a nice chunk of change to go along with D&W ($545.8M/$1.093B) and Inside Out 2 ($642.1M/$1.625B).
The $42M marks the second-best opening for an Alien film (unadjusted for inflation) behind Prometheus ($51M) and a notch above AVP: Alien Vs. Predator ($38.3M), proving there’s plenty of life in Ridley Scott’s formidable saga. Audiences awarded the pic a B+ CinemaScore and a healthy 86% on RottenTomatoes. Considering the lack of options over the next three weeks, Romulus should enjoy a decent box-office run and (hopefully) spawn future sequels.
PLF and Imax accounted for 52% of sales, per the trade.
How high can Romulus fly? Prometheus ended its run with $402.5M worldwide despite only scoring $126M domestically. Scott’s films typically play incredibly well overseas, and Romulus is following suit, earning a massive $25.7M in China — the second-best opening for a Hollywood movie this year. Prometheus dipped -59% in its second weekend but remained in theaters from June until September. If Romulus follows suit, there’s no reason it shouldn’t achieve a similar domestic total.
A worst-case scenario is a second-weekend dip of 71%, similar to Alien: Covenant, which finished with $74M domestic and $238M worldwide. Of course, Romulus cost just $80M to produce, meaning it will likely turn a profit. Enough to warrant a sequel? Time will tell.
This week sees the release of The Crow, a remake of Alex Proyas’ popular 1994 gothic action/fantasy starring Brandon Lee, who died during production. That film earned $94M after an $11.7M opening weekend. Currently, expectations for the remake aren’t very high, with many penciling in an opening between $7M and $11M. Yikes! Summer is officially over, folks. Time to look forward to fall.
Box Office Results: Domestic Top 10
1.) Alien: Romulus (20th/Dis) 3,885 theaters, Fri $18M Sat $13.5M Sun $10M 3-day $41.5M/Wk 1
2.) Deadpool & Wolverine (Dis) 3,960 (-370) theaters, Fri $8.1M Sat $12.5M Sun $8.4M 3-day $29M (-46%), Total $545.8M/Wk 4
The MCU title is headed to $625M to $650M domestic. On the low end, that will be the 13th highest grossing movie of all-time.
3.) It Ends With Us (Sony) 3,739 (+128) theaters, Fri $7.8M Sat $8.88M Sun $7.2M 3-day $24M (-52%), Total $97.7M/Wk 2
4.) Twisters (Uni/WB) 3,483 (-181) theaters, $2.82M Sat $4.2M Sun $2.75M, 3-day $9.8M (-35%), Total $238.4M/Wk 5
5.) Coraline (Fath) 1,535 theaters, Fri $2.6M Sat $3.3M Sun $2.36M 3-day $8.37M, Total $11.3M/Wk 1
6.) Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 2,788 (-221) theaters, Fri $1.59M Sat $2.6M Sun $1.8M 3-day $6M (-25%), Total $340.4M/Wk 7
7.) Trap (WB) 3,181 theaters, Fri $1M Sat $1.4M Sun $1M 3-day $3.43M (-48%), Total $35.2M /Wk 3
8.) Inside Out 2 (Dis) 1,850 (-350) theaters Fri $820K Sat $1.4M Sun $980K 3-day $3.2M (-33%) Total $642.1M/Wk 10
9.) Borderlands (LG) 3,125 theaters, Fri $680K (-83%) Sat $1M Sun $670K 3-day$2.35M (-72%), Total $13.5M/Wk 2
10. Stree 2 (Parth) 666 theaters, Fri $589K Sat $896K Sun $699K , 3-day $2.1M, Total $2.57M/Wk 1
(Source: Deadline)
