“Alien: Romulus” scared up $108.2 million in its global box office debut, including $66.7 million from 49 international territories.
Disney, the studio behind the newest chapter in the long-running sci-fi horror saga, reported that overseas ticket sales are pacing ahead of “A Quiet Place: Day One” by 47% and fellow “Alien” installment “Prometheus” by 17% in like-for-like markets at current exchange rates. That trajectory is promising because Paramount’s horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” has grossed $122 million internationally while “Prometheus” ended its international run with $276 million.
At the domestic box office, “Alien: Romulus” scored $41.5 million in its opening weekend, marking the second-highest start of the otherworldly series behind “Prometheus” ($51 million). Outside of the U.S. and Canada, the film enjoyed the best liftoff in China with $25.7 million — the second-biggest debut of the year for a Hollywood film in the country. Since the pandemic, most Hollywood movies have been largely ignored by Chinese audiences, but “Alien: Romulus” seems to be connecting with moviegoers. Other top-earning territories include Korea with $5.4 million, the United Kingdom with $4.8 million and France with $3.8 million.
“Alien: Romulus,” directed by Fede Alvarez (“Don’t Breathe”), is the seventh installment in the franchise that began 45 years ago with Ridley Scott’s 1979 monster adventure “Alien.” This entry cost $80 million and centers on young intergalactic colonists (Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux and Isabela Merced among them) who come face to face with a terrifying life form while scavenging a rundown space station.
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“A big part of Alien’s success has been overseas,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “‘Romulus’ will follow that pattern, but we also expect the foreign numbers to be off to some degree” because several “horror movies are doing less foreign business since the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, “It Ends With Us,” starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has officially achieved sleeper hit status. Over the weekend, the film added $33.1 million at the international box office, bringing its overseas tally to $82.2 million. With those ticket sales, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s literary sensation has surpassed a remarkable $180 million globally after just 10 days of release. Sony Pictures and Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios co-financed “It Ends With Us” for $25 million, making for some enviable profit margins.
Disney’s Marvel adventure “Deadpool & Wolverine” also enjoyed a big weekend with $32.9 million from 52 overseas markets and $61.9 million globally. After four weekends of release, the Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman-led tentpole has collected a mammoth $596.8 million internationally $545.8 million in North America to date. Earlier this week, “Deadpool & Wolverine” overtook “Joker” as the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history with $1.14 billion globally.
