So much for the doldrums of August. Between Alien: Romulus and the near $100M-grossing Sony/Wayfarer Studios movie’ It Ends With Us, it’s clear we’ve shaken off all the strike jitters.
Disney continues to keep the shine on its 20th Century Studios brand with their own fingerprints on storied franchises as Alien: Romulus settles with $41.5M, the second highest opening ever in the 45-year old franchise and the highest opening ever for genre-meister Fede Álvarez and star Cailee Spaeny. Global start is way above what we originally spotted ($75M) with $108.2M, but domestic is exactly where we called it.
EntTelligence reports that Alien: Romulus clocked 2.7M admissions repping 27% of the entire weekend’s foot traffic.
Alvarez’s previous big opening was 2016 late summer hit Don’t Breathe ($26.4M) while Spaeny’s was 2018’s Pacific Rim Uprising with $28.1M. Twenty-two percent of those who bought tickets came because they’re a fan of Alvarez.
It was clear that Disney had something special in the visceral, edgy deep space of Alien: Romulus at San Diego Comic-Con last month. Not simply because Disney handed out facehugger masks to everyone in Hall H (and more at the Hollywood premiere), but in the extended footage.
But there was something else that was interesting in their marketing campaign: Apparently, some fans were divided about the ending of the movie. Disney didn’t run away from that, in fact they embraced that in the marketing with digital ads this weekend telling potential moviegoers to see Alien: Romulus before they heard about the third act.
Outside of Comic-Con, this movie was pretty much sold off the power of its brand and as a horror movie. Given the previous Aliens we’ve seen before, it boils down to a trailer that makes the nth installment stand apart from the rest. Not only did the first March 20 spot scare up close to 50M views in its first 24 hours, trending on X and notching No. 1 on YouTube, but PostTrak audiences certify that in-theater trailer (21%) and online trailer (13%) were their biggest factors in attending this weekend as well as word of mouth from friends and family (13%).
Cinema partnerships included immersive in-theater takeovers with custom food & beverage items, custom signage and digital lobby displays. There were also life-size custom statues for 12 theaters and “faked” Xenomorph building takeovers; all great items to post and excite on social channels. In the age of the perverse popcorn buckets post Dune 2‘s sandworm and Wolverine’s open mouth for Deadpool & Wolverine, there were Xenomorph head and facehugger popcorn buckets available at Regal and AMC theaters.
Predator showcasing the new Alien Romulus popcorn bucket #alienromulus #predatorcosplay #popcornbucket pic.twitter.com/2B7HjlaX8w
— gamingcosplayer (@gamingcosplaye1) August 17, 2024
Cross promoting on the Disney empire, Alien: Romulus had a takeover on ESPN SportsCenter over two weeks. FX hosted an Alien Movie Marathon Weekend with special looks. Hulu and Disney+ supported the campaign by merchandising the franchise on platform through key placements like the Hero Carousel, Movies for You and Movies Hubs.
Among promo partnerships for the R-rated movie, Reebok released limited edition Reebok x Aliens BB 4000 II Mid Shoes, featuring distressed leather and a Weyland-Yutani logo. Angel City Brewery created ‘Aspen Beer’ from the Alien franchise, served in theaters. And nothing says beautiful more than a limited edition of cosmetics inspired by the pic from Phoenix Rising Cosmetics.
Consumer products for the franchise were re-heated with softlines (t-shirts and apparel) and collectibles (NECA, Funko, and other high-end licensees). There was a partnership with popular action-survival horror game Dead by Daylight, which expanded on their Alien franchise integration by introducing Spaeny’s Rain into the game, timed to the release of the film. Marvel Comics worked with Alvarez and frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues on a comic “one-shot” that told the story of what happened on the Renaissance before Rain and the gang arrived. The comic will drop in October timed to the post-theatrical window.
For a minute there, with some 20th Century Studios fare outside of Avatar post Disney merger, it looked shaky, read last autumn’s New Regency original and sublime sci-fi title The Creator collapsing with a $14M opening (granted, there were the actors strikes which challenged the pic’s promotion). Understandable that it’s a New Regency-made movie, but Disney, you’re still promoting it! There were also some low-bar horror pic openings with The First Omen‘s $8.3M. But with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes‘ great $58.4M start and $171.1M domestic, $397.3M global haul earlier this summer, it’s clear the Steve Asbell led label has its house of cards in order. Now, it would be nice to see them shine with some originals like the old Fox pulled off, i.e. Bohemian Rhapsody, The Greatest Showman, heck even female hot demo fare like The Fault in Our Stars. Give it a shot; not everything is meant for Hulu. This latest Alien by Alvarez gives this storied franchise new life with fresh blood to keep its teeth sharp for the near future. The IP will get another boost from the Noah Hawley FX series next year, which takes place during very early days, pre-Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley. Speaking of which, it’s been 27 years since she’s starred in an Alien movie, the last being 1997’s Alien: Resurrection.
In Screen Engine/Comscore exits, 52% said they went to Alien: Romulus because it’s part of a franchise they love.
Updates: Imax and PLFs still repping 52% of the weekend with AMC Burbank the top cinema for the pic, which also stars Isabela Merced, with $127K. Disney will have the premium formats next week for Alien: Romulus; the studio teamed with Imax in selling the Alvarez film (in fact if you looked around LA, you may have thought Disney was launching a film called ‘Imax’). For Merced, Alien: Romulus is her second highest opening after 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight‘s $44.6M. Disney will own the No. 1 box office until Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice arrives on Sept. 6.
Updated weekend estimates:
1.) Alien: Romulus (20th/Dis) 3,885 theaters, Fri $18M Sat $13.5M Sun $10M 3-day $41.5M/Wk 1
2.) Deadpool & Wolverine (Dis) 3,960 (-370) theaters, Fri $8.1M Sat $12.5M Sun $8.4M 3-day $29M (-46%), Total $545.8M/Wk 4
The MCU title is headed to $625M to $650M domestic. On the low end, that will be the 13th highest grossing movie of all-time.
3.) It Ends With Us (Sony) 3,739 (+128) theaters, Fri $7.8M Sat $8.88M Sun $7.2M 3-day $24M (-52%), Total $97.7M/Wk 2
4.) Twisters (Uni/WB) 3,483 (-181) theaters, $2.82M Sat $4.2M Sun $2.75M, 3-day $9.8M (-35%), Total $238.4M/Wk 5
5.) Coraline (Fath) 1,535 theaters, Fri $2.6M Sat $3.3M Sun $2.36M 3-day $8.37M, Total $11.3M/Wk 1
6.) Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 2,788 (-221) theaters, Fri $1.59M Sat $2.6M Sun $1.8M 3-day $6M (-25%), Total $340.4M/Wk 7
7.) Trap (WB) 3,181 theaters, Fri $1M Sat $1.4M Sun $1M 3-day $3.43M (-48%), Total $35.2M /Wk 3
8.) Inside Out 2 (Dis) 1,850 (-350) theaters Fri $820K Sat $1.4M Sun $980K 3-day $3.2M (-33%) Total $642.1M/Wk 10
9.) Borderlands (LG) 3,125 theaters, Fri $680K (-83%) Sat $1M Sun $670K 3-day $2.35M (-72%), Total $13.5M/Wk 2
10. Stree 2 (Parth) 666 theaters, Fri $589K Sat $896K Sun $699K , 3-day $2.1M, Total $2.57M/Wk 1