The ninth movie in the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus had a pretty good weekend at the box office. Released on August 16th and breathing new life into the franchise, the action production earned $18 million in just one day. So what does this mean for the Alien franchise?
Alien: Romulus could be the best of the series?
Directed by Fede Álvarez, Alien: Romulus grossed $18 million on its first Friday in theaters. The action movie is expected to earn $41 million over the three-day period in North America. This will be the second biggest debut for an Alien movie after Ridley Scott’s Prometheus.
In fact, compared to past Alien films, the $41 million opening is not at the expected level. In this context, Romulus ranks near the bottom of the franchise in terms of inflation-adjusted weekends. Prometheus is behind Alien vs Predator, Alien 3 and Alien: Covenant.
But early signs suggest that Romulus may win more than its predecessors. Critics have shown it to be better than other post-Aliens movies. It’s also expected to do well in countries like China and Japan, with an estimated opening take of $25 million.
Alien: Covenant grossed a total of 240 million dollars. In this context, if Romulus can surpass this figure, it will be considered successful at the box office with its budget of 80 million dollars.
Even though Romulus is not a groundbreaking movie for the 45-year-old series, it is possible to say that it is internationally acclaimed. Therefore, it is expected to surpass its budget within a few weeks and breathe new life into the science fiction-horror franchise.