Photo: The Canadian Press This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Xenomorph in a scene from "Alien: Romulus." (20th Century Studios via AP) “ Alien: Romulus ,” the latest installment in the 45-year-old franchise, opened in first place at the North American box office. The 20th Century Studios release earned an estimated $41.
5 million in its first weekend, where it was playing in 3,885 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Including $66.7 million from international showings in 49 markets, “Alien: Romulus” boasted a $108.2 million global debut.
The Walt Disney Co., which owns 20th Century Studios, claimed the top two spots on the charts, with Marvel’s “ Deadpool & Wolverine ” now in its fourth weekend, taking second place with $29 million. The company has been responsible for an estimated 42% of the industry's summer box office haul, including hits “Inside Out 2” and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
” August can often be slow for the movie business, or, less charitably, a dumping ground. But while 2024 has lagged overall for the movie business, a string of recent hits including “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “ It Ends With Us ” helped build a momentum that put this late August weekend over 30% ahead of the same weekend last year. It’s also up over 10% from August 2019.
Fede Álvarez directed “Alien: Romulus, ” set around the time of “Alien” and “Aliens,” and recruited a cast of up-and-coming 20-somethings to lead the cast including Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson and Isabela Merced. The sci-fi film leans into Álvarez's propensity for all things horror, as he is known for “Evil Dead” and “Don't Breathe,” and embraces the franchise's horror roots. Reviews have been a little mixed, but mostly positive, with an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Audiences gave it a B+ CinemaScore. The romantic drama “ It Ends With Us ” landed in third place with $24 million, down just 52% from its triumphant opening . The Sony movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who also directed, has made $97.
8 million to date. It cost only $25 million to produce. The film was adapted from the bestselling Colleen Hoover novel of the same name that follows Lively as Lily Bloom, a woman at a crossroads when a past love upends her current relationship with Baldoni's Ryle Kincaid.
Rumors of behind-the-scenes drama on the film also continues to dominate social media discourse and tabloid headlines — but “Don’t Worry Darling” also taught us that gossip and chatter don’t always translate to box office returns. “Twisters” placed fourth in its fifth weekend with $9.8 million from 3,483 theaters.
The Universal release has made over $238.4 million domestically. Rounding out the top five was a re-release: “Coraline,” which Fathom Events put on over 1,500 screens for its 15th anniversary where it made $11.
3 million in four days and $8.9 million from Friday through Sunday. The stop-motion animated film was an adaptation of a Neil Gaiman novella, written and directed by Henry Selick and marked the first-ever release for Laika.
It’ll be in theaters until Aug. 22. “Borderlands,” the video game adaptation starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jamie Lee Curtis, brought in $2.
4 million in its second weekend bringing its total box office earnings to a modest $13.5 million compared to its reported $120 million budget..
