R-Rated Sci-Fi Horror “Alien: Romulus” Facehugs Atop the Box Office!
Alien: Romulus, the latest entry in the long-running Alien franchise, debuted at number one at the box office. However, there’s still some contention about whether it’s a resounding success or not.
Directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote it with Rodo Sayagues, Alien: Romulus saw a $41.5 million domestic opening. Not bad for an R-rated sci-fi horror that was originally planned to be a direct-to-streaming release. Now, while certain people find such a debut respectable, others say that it should have done better considering the reported approximately $80 million production budget and it being part of an iconic IP.
Talking about new installments in long-running IPs this year, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opened at $45 million while Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opened at $58.4 million. They went on to gross approximately $202 million and $397.4 million respectively at the global box office.
Due to Alien: Romulus being R-rated, it might not have the necessary longlegs at the box office to turn much of a profit for the studio. And due to Hollywood being a business, the “low” performance might just put the IP into hibernation for a while… again.
Take note; Alien: Covenant came out back in 2017.
Personally, I liked Alien: Romulus. Even though I felt the cast was a bit too young, I did enjoy the overall gore and some of the set designs. I also liked the relationship dynamic between Rain and her android sibling David. However, I have to say that the film kind of lost me during the finale. The narrative took a sharp turn to feature shock value in a manner that didn’t sit well with me.
Anyway, as of writing this, the latest Alien chapter has grossed more than $110 million worldwide. This includes an estimated $25.7 million from China, making it the second-biggest debut of the year for a Hollywood film over there.
The current RT Critic Score stands at 81% with the Audience Score being 86%. So, hopefully, it will continue to make money down the line and urge the House of Mouse to grow the IP’s live-action movie series.
As for the rest of the box office, no one is interested in watching the star-studded Borderlands as the live-action video game adaptation fell to number 10 with $2.3 million. You know? Right on the… border.
The 3D re-release of Coraline, to celebrate the flick’s 15th Anniversary, grossed an impressive $8.3 million for the highlighted box office window. I really like that movie.
Top 10 Box Office Chart (August 16-18, 2024)
- Alien: Romulus – $41.5 million
- Deadpool and Wolverine – $29 million
- It Ends With Us – $24 million
- Twisters – $9.8 million
- Coraline – $8.3 million
- Despicable Me 4 – $6 million
- Trap – $3.4 million
- Inside Out 2 – $3.2 million
- Stree 2 – $2.5 million
- Borderlands – $2.3 million
What did you think of Alien: Romulus? Would like a sequel?
Let us know.
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(via Variety, Beyond the Trailer)
Author: Farid-ul-Haq
Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.
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