The numbers are there, and Alien: Romulus has made a frighteningly great start.
According to Deadline, the sci-fi horror film exceeded expectations, opening with $108.2 million worldwide at the time of writing. Its international haul totaled $66.7 million, and its outperformance comes from China, where it opened with $25.7 million, making it the second-best opening for a Hollywood film this year. Domestically, it grossed $41.5 million, double the expected $20 million. It’s also the second-best opening for the entire year. Foreigner Franchise (behind 2012s Prometheus, said the Hollywood Reporter) and is the film that finally knocked Deadpool and Wolverine from its first place. Not that it matters, since the studio has already had a lot of success in the cinemas this summer with these two films and Inside Out 2.
Romulus was originally intended for Hulu before Disney decided to expand it to a full theatrical release, and that gamble has clearly paid off. People love it some Foreigner, and it helps that it has been a long time since Alien: Covenant hit theaters in 2017, so people had plenty of time to miss the series. (Before the new movie, I saw several people on social media rewatching the previous movies to prepare for this one.) Considering that pretty much every big movie in the last few months has had trailers attached to it and the series has been gaining traction, it’s no wonder the movie has exceeded initial expectations.
Two weeks before the end of August, Romulus has some genre competition in the form of the long-awaited remake of The Crow, Strange Darling, And Flash twice next week on August 23rd. On August 30th there will be the AI tech thriller Worried with John Cho and Katherine Waterson, and the cast led by Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne slingshot.
