411 Box Office Report: Alien Romulus Claims Top Spot With $41 Million

The Xenomorphs clipped Marvel atop the box office this weekend as Alien Romulus claimed the top spot. Fede Alvarez’s film in the sci-fi horror franchise ran away with #1, bringing in $41.5 million. That is the second-best opening in franchise history, behind only Prometheus’ $51.1 opening in June 2012. It also reps the largest start for a film by Alvarez with ease, eclipsing the $26.4 million opening that Don’t Breathe had in August of 2016.

The opening is on the high end of expectations, which had the prequel/sequel coming in in the $35 million to $40 million range coming into the weekend. It’s a strong start for the film, especially when you factor in the $66.7 million overseas opening that was goosed by a stronger-than-expected opening in China. That gives the film $108.2 million worldwide and puts it well on the path to profit against an $80 million budget.

Buzz was high for Romulus, with Disney hoping that the franchise could be revived after Alien: Covenant fell flat. Alvarez has a lot of horror cred and fans were clearly interested in his take on Ridley Scott’s famed franchise. Disney and 20th Century Studios gave the film a savvy marketing campaign and buzz around the trailers was high. That buzz heightened when the film came in as largely a critical hit, with an 81% aggregated critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s the best average for the franchise since Aliens in 1986.

The film is looking to be in very good shape at this point, with the word of mouth expected to be decent thanks to a B+ CinemaScore (again, the best since Aliens scored an A) and an 86% RT audience score. With no blockbuster competition until Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in early September, Romulus should be headed to at least $120 million domestically and should be a very solid hit for its studios.

Deadpool & Wolverine fell to #2 in its fourth weekend but was still holding strongly, down 46% to $29 million. The MCU sequel now stands at $545.8 million and $1.143 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time by both metrics. The film is still going very strong and should finish out near $600 million, if not a little over. The budget was $200 million and suffice to say it’s a gigantic hit.

Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us also performed well in its second weekend, down 52% from its surprisingly strong start to $24 million. That’s a better hold than other top-opening romantic drama literary adaptations like The Fault in Our Stars (69% second weekend drop) and Fifty Shades of Grey (74%). What’s more, the film is performing well both domestically and overseas with $97.8 million stateside and $180 million worldwide against a budget of just $25 million. This is a huge performer for Sony Pictures and is likely to finish off in the $150 million range or more in terms of US gross.

Twisters held on very well despite releasing on digital this week, off just 35% in its fifth frame to $9.8 million. The sequel is now up to $238.4 million domestically and $326.4 million worldwide, profitable for Universal against a $155 million budget and already bringing in that digital revenue – further evidence that home viewing doesn’t necessarily cannibalize theatrical. The film is likely to close out with around $255 million domestically, easily enough to be a hit.

Coming in at #4 with a surprisingly high gross was Fathom Events’ special screenings of Coraline for the animated film’s 15th anniversary. The LAIKA stop-motion production brought in a stellar $8.4 million, which brings its all-time totals to $86.6 million domestically and $137.3 million worldwide. Of course this is just extra money for Fathom and distributor Focus Features, and a healthy amount of it to boot.

Despicable Me 4 was down just 25% in its sixth weekend to bring in $6 million. The animated flick has added up $340.2 million domestically and $847.4 million worldwide to date, big against against a $100 million budget. The film is now looking at around $355 million or more by the end of its US run, another hit in the Illumination franchise.

Trap fell 48% in its third weekend, bringing in $3.4 million. The M. Night Shyamalan thriller is still in good shape with $35.2 million domestically and $62.3 million worldwide against a $30 million budget. It should finish off with around $42 million to $45 million in the US, which everyone involved will be okay with.

Inside Out 2 was down 34% in its tenth weekend to $3.2 million. The Pixar sequel has now reached $642.2 million domestically and $1.626 billion worldwide, obviously a massive hit. It should make it to $650 million stateside. The budget was $200 million.

Borderlands followed its flop opening last weekend with a disastrous hold this frame. The Eli Roth-directed video game flick brought in $2.4 million, down a rough 73% from last weekend’s start. That is the final ignominious nail in this film’s coffin, setting it at $13.5 million domestically and $21.2 million worldwide against a $120 million budget. It won’t even reach $20 million in the US and will lose the studio tens of millions of dollars.

Opening in the #10 spot was Stree 2. The Hindi-language supernatural comedy scored $2.2 million, very good numbers for such a film. It has a total of $24 million worldwide against a reported $6 million budget and is obviously a hit.

Alien Romulus is likely to retain the top spot next weekend barring an unexpectedly high fall. The weekend will see Lionsgate’s long-gestating The Crow remake open, along with Sony’s faith-based film The Forge. Both movies are looking at mid-single digit openings.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Alien: Romulus – $41.5 million ($41.5 million domestically, $108.2 million WW)
2. Deadpool & Wolverine – $29 million ($545.8 million total, $1.142 billion WW)
3. It Ends With Us – $24 million ($97.8 million total, $180 million WW)
4. Twisters – $9.8 million ($238.4 million total, $326.4 million WW)
5. Coraline (Re-release) – $8.4 million ($86.6 million total, $137.3 million WW)
6. Despicable Me 4 – $6 million ($340.4 million total, $847.4 million WW)
7. Trap – $3.4 million ($35.2 million total, $62.3 million WW)
8. Inside Out 2 – $3.2 million ($642.2 million total, $1.626 billion WW)
9. Borderlands – $2.4 million ($13.5 million total, $21.2 million WW)
10. Stree 2- $2.1 million ($2.1 million total, $24 million WW)