Alien: Romulus has clawed its way to the top of the domestic box office, raking in $41.5 million in its opening weekend. This marks the second-highest debut in the long-running Alien franchise. The movie’s strong performance ended the three-week reign of Deadpool & Wolverine, which recently became the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history, surpassing Joker with $1.14 billion in global earnings.
Disney’s incredible summer streak continues with Alien: Romulus adding to a series of box office hits. The studio previously saw success with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which grossed $397 million in May, Inside Out 2 with $1.597 billion in June, and Deadpool & Wolverine with $1.14 billion in July. Disney has already surpassed $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales for 2024, and with upcoming releases like Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King, they’re poised to continue this upward trajectory. This success is a significant turnaround after a challenging 2023, where films like The Marvels and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny underperformed.
Alien: Romulus also made waves internationally, bringing in $66.7 million, leading to a global total of $108.2 million. The R-rated film has been well-received, boasting an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a solid “B+” CinemaScore from audiences, suggesting a strong run ahead.
David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research praised the film’s performance, noting its impressive box office results given its position in a decades-old series. Directed by Fede Alvarez, known for his work on Don’t Breathe, Alien: Romulus is the seventh installment in the franchise. The film, with an $80 million budget, follows a group of young colonists who encounter a deadly life form on a derelict space station. Despite falling short of the franchise’s best opening with 2012’s Prometheus ($51 million), Romulus outpaced previous entries like 2017’s Alien: Covenant and 2004’s Alien vs. Predator.
This weekend saw no other major nationwide releases, as Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 was pulled from the schedule following the underwhelming performance of Chapter 1, which only grossed $32 million globally.
In its fourth weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine took second place, earning an additional $29 million despite a 46% drop from last weekend. The film’s North American total now stands at $545.8 million, with an international total of $596.8 million.
Sony’s romantic drama It Ends With Us continued to perform well, securing third place with $24 million in its second weekend. The adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestseller, starring Blake Lively and directed by Justin Baldoni, has nearly reached $100 million domestically.
Universal’s Twisters claimed fourth place, adding $9.8 million in its fifth weekend. The disaster film, led by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell, has grossed $238.4 million in North America and $333.4 million worldwide. Notably, the movie’s availability on premium video-on-demand did not significantly affect its box office numbers.
Rounding out the top five, the 15th-anniversary re-release of Laika’s stop-motion fantasy Coraline earned $8.9 million, bringing its total re-release earnings to $11.3 million.
On the other hand, Lionsgate’s Borderlands adaptation continued to struggle, dropping to ninth place with a meager $2.35 million in its second weekend. With a budget of $115 million, Borderlands has only managed to gross $13 million domestically, making it one of the year’s biggest box office disappointments.
