An unexpectedly strong August continues with the usual (Disney films lead the way) and the unusual (both are R-rated). They’re also a testament to M&A strategy: Both are franchises that Disney acquired from 20th Century-Fox . Nearly a half century after the Ridley Scott original, “Alien: Romulus” opened at #1 with $41.
5 million, and “Deadpool & Wolverine” is #2 with $29 million. Both characters were assets Disney acquired in its $71.8 billion 2019 takeover of the Hollywood legacy studio, Fox.
That synergy extends to “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the sixth-biggest film of this summer. Throw in “The First Omen” and a reissue of “The Phantom Menace,” and Fox content has provided $825 million of Disney’s $1.467 billion industry-leading gross so far this year.
With three films in the top 10 (#8 is “Inside Out” from Pixar with its $642 million to date) and the distributor represents nearly 54 percent of the weekend’s gross. Its return to dominance is critical for any hope of sustained recovery. That one of the titles is the strongest (by far) Marvel film in five years; another is a return to form for Pixar.
“Romulus” joins last week’s “It Ends with Us” (Sony) as a second $40 million+ August opener. Generally regarded as the summer’s least-appealing month, that’s a real rarity; it hasn’t happened since 2014. With the Colleen Hoover adaptation coming in at #3 with $24 million (down 52 percent, nearing an unexpected $100 million), t.