Topline
The ninth film in the longrunning “Alien” franchise scored a $41.5 million domestic opening—the second-best ever for the series—and grossed an impressive $108 million worldwide thanks to impressive ticket sales in China, according to multiple outlets.
Cailee Spaeny in “Alien: Romulus.”
Key Facts
“Alien: Romulus” reportedly grossed $18 million domestically on Friday and in previews, ultimately growing to surpass its $40 million projected debut by the end of the weekend and marking the third impressive opening of the summer for Disney.
The movie had the second-best opening of any Hollywood film so far this year in China, Deadline reported, grossing $25.7 million in its opening weekend in the country.
“Romulus,” the ninth “Alien” movie to be released since the original in 1979, had the franchise’s second-best domestic opening weekend ever behind “Prometheus” in 2012, surpassing 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” ($38.3 million) and “Alien: Covenant” from 2017 ($36.1 million).
“Alien: Romulus” kicked “Deadpool & Wolverine” out of the top spot in U.S. ticket sales for the first time in four weeks, and the superhero film grossed another $29 million for second place.
“It Ends With Us” grossed $24 million in domestic theaters, putting it in third place, “Twisters” was in fourth place with $9.8 million and an anniversary re-release of “Coraline,” a cult-classic animated film that first came out 15 years ago, grossed $8.9 million.
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Big Number
$1.3 billion. That’s how much the “Alien” films, not adjusted for inflation, have grossed at the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo.
Surprising Fact
With the additional $29 million this weekend, “Deadpool & Wolverine” became the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history. Its $1.14 billion is enough to surpass the 2018 film ” Joker,” which grossed $1.07 billion globally. A sequel, ” Joker: Folie à Deux,” is slated to be released later this year.
Tangent
“It Ends With Us” fell to third place in its second weekend amid drama between cast members and a fall from grace for its star, Blake Lively. The internet has been abuzz with rumors about a falling out of the film’s cast—fueled when actor and director Justin Baldon reportedly hired a crisis public relations manager—and Lively herself has been met with criticism for how she’s promoted the film, based off a bestselling book of the same name by Colleen Hoover. The movie deals with domestic violence and abuse, and Lively has been accused of not taking the themes seriously and using the press tour to promote her new hair care line. “It Ends With Us” grossed $50 million in its opening weekend—above expectations and in second place to “Deadpool & Wolverine’s” $54.2 million the same week.
Further Reading
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes reporter who covers breaking news with a frequent focus on the entertainment industry, streaming, sports news, publishing, pop culture and climate change. She joined Forbes in 2023 and lives in Dallas. She’s covered Netflix’s hottest documentaries, a surge of assaults reported on social media, the most popular books of the year and how climate change stands to impact the way we eat. Roeloffs was included on Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “ 25 Under 30” list in 2023 and worked covering local news in the greater Boston area from 2017 to 2023. She graduated with a double major in political science and journalism from Northeastern University. Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics.
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