SATURDAY AM UPDATE: 20th Century Studios’ Fede Alvarez directed Alien: Romulus is still looking at the 45-year old franchise’s second biggest opening with $40M-$42M for the weekend after an $18M Friday. Disney has bragging rights for second place in the fourth weekend of Deadpool & Wolverine at $27M, -50%, while Sony/Wayfarer Studios’ It Ends With Us second weekend takes third with $24M, -52%.
An great late summer weekend in August at $136.6M, that’s 36% ahead of the same frame last year, and 13% ahead of the same pre-Covid August weekend in 2019.
The expectation is that Alien: Romulus will hold at -23% today off it’s Friday/preview figure which is around what Alien: Covenant, the previous chapter, back in 2017. Alien: Romulus gets at B+ CinemaScore, which is better than Alien: Covenant‘s B, but still behind the franchise’s best which was James Cameron’s 1986 Aliens which scored an A. Still not bad.
PLF and Imax are accounting for 52% of ticket sales so far for an audience that’s very dude at 70% male, 25-34 being the biggest demo at 33% with 18-34 attending at 60%. Diversity mix is 43% Caucasian, 26% Latino and Hispanic, 14% Black, 12% Asian and 6% NatAm/Other. Alien: Romulus is playing the best in the West, Mountain and South Central with the AMC Lincoln Square the highest grossing venue stateside with close to $70K so far.
Social media monitor RelishMix counts 246.8 followers across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram for Alien: Romulus, 12% ahead of other action sci-fi genres, yet behind Alien: Covenant‘s 352M followers. Social media charged cast members are Isabela Merced at 5.7M fans, Archie Renaux at 576K and Cailee Spaeny at 393K. Despite the overperformance here, RelishMix noticed mixed chatter for the installment in the walk-up to opening with some of the upbeat praise centering around fans’ respect for Alvarez “honoring the legacy of the original two Alien films. ‘Fede Alvarez understood the assignment,’ and, ‘I am actually intrigued by this and how it expands on the existing mystery of the Alien.’ Others have highlighted the aesthetic and atmospheric elements of the trailer, sharing, ‘The use of what looks like quite a lot of practical effects is amazing,’ and, ‘Dark and ominous, can’t wait!’”
Best opening for an Alien movie goes to Ridley Scott’s 2012 Prometheus which posted a first day of $21.4M in previews/Friday for a $51M 3-day. Of the negative buzz that RelishMix observed were some people’s ire that Scott wasn’t completing his Prometheus trilogy.
Alvarez told us on Crew Call, he pitched his vision for Alien to former ScottFree executive Michael Schaeffer after a Neill Blomkamp version which would have seen the return of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, fell apart.
Top 10 chart:
1.) Alien: Romulus (20th/Dis) 3,885 theaters, Fri $18M, 3-day $40M-$42M/Wk 1
2.) Deadpool & Wolverine (Dis) 3,960 (-370) theaters, Fri $8.1M (-48%) 3-day $27M (-50%), Total $543.8M/Wk 4
3.) It Ends With Us (Sony) 3,739 (+128) theaters, Fri $7.7M (-68%) 3-day $24M (-52%), Total $97.7M/Wk 2
4.) Twisters (Uni/WB) 3,483 (-181) theaters, $2.75M (-39%), 3-day $9.2M (-39%), Total $237.8M/Wk 5
5.) Coraline (Fath) 1,535 theaters, Fri $2.69M 3-day $8.3M, Total $11.4M/Wk 1
6.) Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 2,788 (-221) theaters, Fri $1.57M (-39%) 3-day $5.5M (-31%), Total $339.9M/Wk 7
7.) Trap (WB) 3,181 theaters, Fri $1M (-51%) 3-day $3.25M (-51%), Total $35M /Wk 3
8.) Inside Out 2 (Dis) 1,850 (-350) theaters Fri $820K (-47%) 3-day $2.9M (-40%) Total $641.8M/Wk 10
9.) Borderlands (LG) 3,125 theaters, Fri $680K (-83%), 3-day $2.2M (-74%), Total $13.3M/Wk 2
- Stree 2 (Parth) 666 theaters, Fri $600K, 3-day $2M, Total $2.4M/Wk 1
The movie from Amar Kaushik follows the town of Chanderi which is being haunted again. This time, women are mysteriously abducted by a terrifying headless entity. It’s up to Vicky and his friends to save their town and loved ones. The movie is posting big sales in Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle, NYC, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
20th Century Studios
FRIDAY MIDDAY UPDATE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Fede Alvarez directed Alien: Romulus is headed for a $40M+ opening at 3,885 theaters in first place after a previews/Friday of $18.5M+. Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak audience exits last night were happy with the movie at 82% positive, 4 stars and a 65% definite recommend. 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. Despite the younger cast here in Isabel Merced, Cailey Spaeny and David Jonsson among others, 74% of the crowd were over 25.
Next is Marvel Studios/Disney’s fourth weekend of Deadpool & Wolverine at 3,960 locations with $27M-$29M after a $8.5M Friday. At the high end, the Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman pic could clear $545.7M by Sunday.
Third belongs to Sony/Wayfarer Studios’ Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni romance drama It Ends With Us at 3,739 sites with a second Friday of $7.5M and second weekend at $23M, -54%. Note that could very well improve throughout the weekend; some believe the pic could movie closer to D&W 3-day take. Cume by Sunday is $96.7M.
The fifth weekend of Twisters from Universal/Warner Bros at 3,483 theaters is looking at $2.5M today for an $8.4M 3-day, -44% and running total of $237M.
Fifth goes to Fathom’s 15th anniversary rerelease of Coraline at 1,523 theaters with $2.2M today, $7.3M for the 3-day and $10.4M for the four-day. The Focus Features movie opened to $16.8M back in February 2009, and made $82.4M stateside.
20th Century Studios
FRIDAY AM UPDATE: Alien: Romulus is off to a solid start with $6.5M previews. Critics and audience scores remain high on Rotten Tomatoes at 82% and 88% for the Fede Alvarez directed take of the Ridley Scott production.
In regards to comps Alien: Romulus isn’t far from A Quiet Place: Part Two ($6.7M previews, $52M opening), Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ($6.6M, $58M opening), and Bad Boys: Ride or Die ($6.1M, $57M). The expectation is for this Cailee Spaeny starring installment, which takes place between Alien and Aliens to open to $40M+ in first place indicating a great late summer hit which can roll us into September before Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice takes over. The pic is booked at 3,885 theaters, which includes 400 Imax, 900 PLFs, 275 D-Box/4D motion screens and 90 ScreenX locales.
Meanwhile, Blake Lively won at the daily box office again for the fourth time this week over Ryan Reynolds; It Ends With Us making $4.9M to Deadpool & Wolverine‘s $4.56M on Thursday. It Ends With Us posted the highest seven-day take for a non-sequel this year grossing $73.7M. D&W‘s running total stands at $516.7M. The Shawn Levy directed, produced and co-written title is looking at grossing another $30M this weekend. It Ends With Us is expected to hold with around $22M, maybe more.
Fathom’s re-release of Coraline at 1,570 theaters made $3.1M yesterday. Universal’s Twisters, which is already on digital sell through and rental if you can believe it, grossed $1.3M at 3,664 theaters, -7% from Wednesday, for a fourth week take of $21.3M and running total of $228.6M.
In fifth was Uni’s Illumination Despicable Me 4 at 3,009 with a sixth week take of $12.2M, running cume of $334.4M after a $878K Thursday, -6% from Wednesday.
Lionsgate’s very expensive $110M-$120M bomb Borderlands ends its first week with $11.1M after a $416K Thursday, -22%.
