Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

The last film to lead the box office four weeks in a row was Barbie. The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Avatar: The Way of Water also did it last year. Deadpool & Wolverine had a chance to be the first in 2024 to achieve that this weekend. Instead, a new Alien film was released by the Fox division of Disney to take it down. Oh, the irony. The money is still coming from inside the same house, and they have every reason to be happy with these numbers for Romulus, provided word-of-mouth helps to keep them going.

King of the Crop: Alien: Romulus DethronesDeadpool & Wolverine

Alien: Romulus indeed led the way this weekend. Last week we saw the 11th-best opening ever in the month of August. This week we have the 17th-best ever, just behind xXx ($44.5 million) and ahead of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ($40.4 million). Romulus’ $41.5 million start, even with inflation consideration, was the third-best opening ever for the franchise behind Prometheus’ $51 million start in June 2012 and David Fincher’s Alien 3, which would have amounted to a $43.6 million opening today. James Cameron’s Aliens would be about a $28.8 million start; Ridley Scott’s 1979 original would clock in with a total around $342 million and Aliens about $244 million. Romulus is hoping to make a run at those totals with $108 million globally to start.

What Romulus would like to do is to zero in on those Prometheus numbers and pass them up. As strong as Scott’s prequel opened, word-of-mouth was not its friend. The film trailed off to conclude with $126.4 million, a mere 2.47 multiple over its opening. Scott’s 2017 follow-up, Alien: Covenant, opened decently to $36 million only to suffer a worse fate – a multiple of just 2.05 – and finished with just $74 million. That was still just a minor disappointment budget-wise for Fox. Alien: Resurrection in 1997 is the only film in the series to post noticeable losses. (Yes, even bigger than the Alien vs. Predator films.) AvP is actually the highest opening weekend ever in August ($38.2 million) to not finish with $100 million domestic. (Freddy vs. Jason is the second highest.) Romulus’ reported $80 million budget appears to be easy enough to overcome now, as long as it doesn’t flame out quickly or get the Twisters treatment overseas. It is only about a quarter of the way to catching Prometheus’ $400 million worldwide haul.

The Top 10 and Beyond: Deadpool Sets New Record,It Ends with Us Holds Strong

No that any tears should be shed for . After all, it passed a billion dollars last weekend and a half billion domestically this week. Adding another $29 milllion into the mix, it stands at over $545 million in North America, the eighth highest ever after 24 days of release. That is still $11 million ahead of Inside Out 2’s overall pace of $534.1 million but behind its fourth weekend of $30.3 million, as well as Barbie’s $33.8 million fourth. That overall gap is likely to continue to shrink on its overall numbers as it appears headed for a landing between $630-650 million. That would keep it out of the top 10 all time at home. Globally, the film passed $1.143 billion and its now 31st all time.

While details on rumored drama behind the scenes is getting a slow roll in the press, the release of It Ends With Us continued to rake it in with $24 million this weekend. A 52% drop puts the film at $97.8 million domestic, just missing becoming the 10th August release ever to crack $100 million in just 10 days. That puts the film just behind G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which had $98.5 million in its first 10 after a lesser $22.3 million second weekend. That has the Blake Lively-led film on a path north of $150 million. The film would need some smaller drops (less than 30%) in the next few weeks if it hopes to stretch to final grosses such as Crazy Rich Asians ($174 million) and The Help ($169 million). But even if it lands on the lower end of that spectrum, it’s still poised to become Sony’s biggest success story of 2024.

Twisters is quite the interesting tale to come out of the summer. The fourth-highest grossing film of the season domestically (and fifth of the year), which premiered on PVOD this weekend, is now up to $238 million after a $9.8 million fifth weekend (just a 35% fall), and nevertheless on the verge of being on the losing end theatrically. Just $95 million to date internationally has the $155 million-budgeted film at $333 million worldwide. As we said two weeks ago, there have only been four films since 2000 that have grossed $250 million domestically (which Twisters will hit) and not gross $200 million abroad: American Sniper ($197.5 million), 2009’s Star Trek ($127.9 million), How the Grinch Stole Christmas ($85.1 million), and The Blind Side ($53.2 million). J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek film is the best correlation, grossing $385 million on a $150 million budget (which was not a success when it left theaters). Twisters could still be headed north of $275 million domestic alone. There aren’t many movies that have to hang their head after a haul like that. Last year’s The Little Mermaid may be the only example with a budget nearly $100 million higher than Twisters.

The two big animated sequels of the summer are well into profit already. Despicable Me 4 cleared $6 million this weekend and now has a total of over $340 million domestic and $847 million worldwide. Just $9 million off the pace of The Secret Life of Pets and $7 million off of Despicable Me 2, DM4 fell behind the former on its seventh weekend ($5.8 million) but ahead of the latter ($3.9 million). Both finished between $368-369 million, whileDM4 appears headed for at least $360 million. We’ll see if it can close that gap between now and Labor Day. Of course, the biggest film of the year, Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2, is now close to $642.1 million after $3.2 million this weekend. It remains about $3-4 million ahead of Jurassic World’s pace (JW had just a $1.2 million 10th weekend) and should still get over $650 million and cement its place as the biggest film of 2024.

Speaking of animated films, one of the fascinating stories of the week is the latest re-release of Henry Selick’s Coraline. Fathom Events did a 15th anniversary release starting on Thursday, and the film has since grossed $11.3 million, $8.3 million of it over the weekend. Last year’s August stint — a four-day Monday/Tuesday showing on the 14th, 15th, 28th and 29th — grossed $7.1 million. Back in 2010, the film opened in February to $16.8 million and grossed over $75 million. It remains the highest-grossing of all the Laika productions, which include Paranorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link. The studio’s latest, Wildwood, will open on April 11, 2025.

Less successful is M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap. It took another 50% dip this weekend down to $3.4 million for a total of $35.2 million. It will pass last year’s Knock at the Cabin but not reach the pandemic release of Old ($48.2 million) and looks to be a small loser in theaters with just $62 million worldwide so far. A much bigger loser is Borderlands. The Lionsgate release of the Eli Roth film (with Tim Miller reshoots) fell 73% (the biggest drop for a film this year in over 3,000 theaters, replacing Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s 65.3% fall) to $2.3 million for a total of $13.5 million domestic and just $20 million worldwide on a reported $115 million budget and is up there with Furiosa, The Fall Guy, Horizon, and Fly Me to the Moon as the biggest bombs of 2024.

Getting into the top 10 this week was Stree 2, a Bollywood horror-comedy that grossed $2.1 million. Dropping out of the top 10 this week was Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo. The Neon release dropped 71% (in 1,503 theaters) to $866,000 and now has a total of $5.3 million. Focus upped the screen count for Didi to 427 theaters, where it grossed $700,000 and now has a total of $2.6 million. IFC continues to try and get their films out to a wider audience. Not all of them are going to connect. Case in point: Skincare with Elizabeth Banks, which made $315,000 in 768 theaters for just a $411 per-theater average despite a an OK approval rating with critics.

On the Vine: Bill Skarsgård Resurrects The Crow

Lionsgate gets another shot this week with the reboot of The Crow starring Bill Skarsgard in the role made infamous by Brandon Lee and the on-set incident that took his life. Although, like Borderlands, the studio is not holding screenings for press, so enter at your own risk. Amazon/MGM is hoping to draw some interest to Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut with the creepy Blink Twice, featuring Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum. They were more confident about reviews and allowed postings this week; at the time of writing, it sits at 80% on the Tomatometer.

Full List of Box Office Results: August 16-18, 2024

  1. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (1) 81% Alien: Romulus (2024)$41.5 million ($41.5 million total)
  2. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (2) 78% (2024)$29 million ($545.8 million total)
  3. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (3) 57% It Ends With Us (2024)$24 million ($97.8 million total)
  4. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (4) 75% Twisters (2024)$9.8 million ($238.4 million total)
  5. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (5) 91% Coraline (2009)$8.3 million ($8.3 million total)
  6. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (6) 56% Despicable Me 4 (2024)$6 million ($340.4 million total)
  7. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (7) 55% Trap (2024)$3.4 million ($35.2 million total)
  8. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (8) 91% Inside Out 2 (2024)$3.2 million ($642.1 million total)
  9. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (9) 10% Borderlands (2024)$2.3 million ($13.5 million total)
  10. Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (10) 67% Stree 2 (2024)$2.1 million ($2.1 million total)

Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box officeonBusiness First AMwith Angela Miles and hisMovie Madness Podcast.

[box office figures viaBox Office Mojo]

Thumbnail image by ©20th Century Studios

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Weekend Box Office: Alien: Romulus Dethrones Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

FAQs

How did Alien Romulus do at the 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.

How much money has Alien Romulus made so far? ›

It's Early On, But Still Successful
Alien: Romulus Box Office Numbers
BudgetDomestic OpeningWorldwide Total
$80 million$41.5 million$108.2 million
3 days ago

What is the highest grossing R-rated film of all time? ›

The newest entry into the MCU has grossed internationally over $1.14 billion. That is the most an R-rated movie has grossed by a mile. Joker, the second highest grossing R-Rated film worldwide, only brought in a little under $1.08 billion.

Is Deadpool and Wolverine the highest grossing R-rated movie? ›

The film — which has Ryan Reynolds' loudmouth Deadpool teaming up with Hugh Jackman's iconic Wolverine — has brought in $1.086 billion over just 23 days, which gives it the title for highest-grossing R-rated film of all time at the global box office.

Is Alien: Romulus a success? ›

While Alien: Romulus has enjoyed box office success, it has also sparked debate among fans and critics. Some have criticized the film for its unconventional approach to legacy characters. Álvarez, who previously deviated from traditional horror conventions with Evil Dead, continues to push boundaries in Alien: Romulus.

Who was the highest paid actor in Alien? ›

Sigourney Weaver Made Over $16 Million For The Alien Movies

Across the four Alien movies she starred in, Weaver made over $16 million in total. Being a relative unknown in the first movie saw her make $35,000, despite being the main character.

What is the highest grossing Alien movie? ›

The biggest opening for an Alien movie remains the 2012 Ridley Scott directed prequel Prometheus at $51M. Fans showed up at 71% men, with 54% over 25. The 18-34 crowd repped 54% of the audience.

How much did Sigourney Weaver make Aliens 2? ›

Sigourney Weaver was paid $1 million to reprise her role as Ripley, a 30-fold increase in salary from Alien (1979). She also received a percentage of the film's gross.

Has Alien: Romulus started filming? ›

Principal photography took place in Budapest from March 9 to July 3, 2023. The film was filmed chronologically and utilized practical effects. Álvarez consulted Alien director Ridley Scott and Aliens director James Cameron during the film's production, who both expressed approval.

What is the #1 movie of all time? ›

Highest-grossing films
RankPeakTitle
11Avatar
21Avengers: Endgame
33Avatar: The Way of Water
41Titanic
46 more rows

Has a rated R movie ever made a billion dollars? ›

Disney's comic book sequel “Deadpool & Wolverine” has generated $1.086 billion at the global box office after 23 days of release, overtaking 2019's “Joker” ($1.078 billion) as the highest grossing R-rated movie in history.

What movie is considered to be the highest selling DVD of all time? ›

1. Finding Nemo. After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.

How much did Ryan Reynolds make for Deadpool and Wolverine? ›

According to a Showbiz Galore report, Ryan Reynolds was rumoured to be paid roughly USD 30 million (RM133.1 million) to star in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Who owns Deadpool and Wolverine? ›

As of 2019's merger, Disney owns all the characters and has begun to fold the characters of X-Men and Fantastic Four into the MCU. Deadpool & Wolverine is a love letter to the 20th Century Fox Marvel movies that are largely dead—or getting rebooted—post-merger.

Could Wolverine beat Deadpool? ›

Wolverine definitely can beat Deadpool and is stronger than him, but Deadpool's speed and healing factor have allowed him to get the drop on Wolverine and do a lot of damage.

How is Alien: Romulus doing in theaters? ›

“Alien: Romulus” collected $66.7 million at the international box office for a global start of $108.2 million. The movie has been well received by critics (it holds an 82% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (who awarded the film a “B+” grade on CinemaScore), which bodes well for its theatrical run.

How did Cloud Atlas do at the box office? ›

Despite expectations that the film could be a success, the film opened to $9.6 million from 2,008 theaters, an average of $4,787 per theater, finishing second at the U.S. box office.

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