Alien: Romulus, the newest film in the Alien franchise, has had a successful opening weekend at the box office. The film which was originally destined for streaming services, showed that it could compete on the silver screen. It exceeded industry expectation and took the top spot at the domestic box office with an estimated $41.5 million opening weekend. This makes it the second biggest opening for the Alien franchise. It also is the biggest opening for director Fede Alvarez’s career.
Globally the film is having a strong opening weekend as well. It earned $108.2 million worldwide. With the success of Alien: Romulus, The Walt Disney Studios is holding both the first and second spots at the box office domestically with Deadpool & Wolverine coming in second.
Alien: Romulus, which stars Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, takes place after Ridley Scott’s 1979’s Alien. It “follows a young group of scavengers who come face-to-face with the most terrifying creature in the universe.” Alvarez shared about Scott, who is a producer on this film, saying, “he’s been a great partner at every level.”
“At the beginning, he was the first one to really pinpoint the things that were going to make this movie pop. And he was totally right,” Alvarez said. “So, he helped me to zero in on the elements that needed all of my attention.”
Alvarez, who wrote the screenplay for the film with Rodo Sayagues, shared that “the whole point of this movie was to take back Alien to the simplicity of the beginning of the franchise, where it was, above all things, a horror movie.”
The success of Alien: Romulus continues a summer-long trend for Disney. It has had the number one film that was released in May, June, and July. The Walt Disney Studios has also accounted for 42% of the Domestic summer box office. It also has held the top spot at the box office for 8 of 16 weekends.
What do you think of the success this weekend for Alien: Romulus? Did you see it? What did you think of it? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
