Glowing reviews, a talented cast of young actors, and a final act that people can't stop talking about. These are just a few of the reasons why "Alien: Romulus" put up such huge box office numbers.
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00:00Glowing reviews, a talented cast of young actors, and a final act that people can't
00:05stop talking about ā these are just a few of the reasons why Alien Romulus put up such
00:10huge box office numbers.
00:13Alien Romulus put up surprisingly robust numbers in its opening weekend.
00:17The film pulled in around $108 million worldwide in just a few days, with $42 million of that
00:24coming from the domestic box office.
00:26That's good for the second-best domestic opening weekend in the franchise's history.
00:31The success of Romulus also owes some thanks to China, where it overperformed with an astonishing
00:36$25.7 million in that country alone.
00:40That makes it the second-biggest opener in China in 2024, right behind Deadpool and Wolverine.
00:46All of this proves there's still heavy interest in the Alien franchise.
00:51Romulus represents an improvement over the previous entry, Alien Covenant, which made
00:55$36.1 million in its opening frame.
00:59Numerous explanations exist for why Romulus struck a chord at this point in time, setting
01:04the stage for more Alien movies.
01:07More so than other franchises, Alien movies tend to take their sweet time.
01:12Each feature-length installment usually takes five to seven years to hit the big screen.
01:17Following 1997's Alien Resurrection, the xenomorphs were tied up in the crossover films Alien
01:23vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator Requiem.
01:26The series came back with Ridley Scott taking the reins again for 2012's Prometheus, and
01:32Scott returned for 2017's Alien Covenant.
01:35However, Covenant was largely seen as an underperformer, particularly in the wake of Prometheus.
01:42Hey, baby.
01:44You're strong!
01:48Covenant ended its run with $240 million worldwide, whereas Prometheus brought in over $400 million
01:55five years prior.
01:56Covenant was supposed to receive a follow-up in the form of Alien Awakening, but that film
02:01didn't happen and seemingly got shelved in favor of a back-to-basics approach with Alien
02:06Romulus.
02:072019 saw the release of a few Alien short films to commemorate the franchise's 40th
02:13anniversary, as well as an Alien Isolation web series.
02:16However, it's been a while since an Alien flick was available in theaters.
02:20With Covenant somewhat overlooked upon release, people may have been primed for a good old-fashioned
02:25Alien movie to get them invested in the series once more.
02:30The last two Alien movies, Prometheus and Alien Covenant, saw Scott clearly trying to
02:35take the franchise in a new direction.
02:37Prometheus is largely absent of xenomorphs, while both films involve more philosophical
02:42discussions about humanity's place in the universe and explore the concept of how humankind's
02:47creators could end up hating us.
02:50What do you believe in, David?
02:57Creation.
02:59Ideas concerning original sin and hubris run rampant, and while there are still alien attacks
03:05and body horror, they often take a backseat to these larger ideas Scott wants to explore.
03:11These departures resulted in mixed receptions for both movies.
03:15In particular, Alien Covenant holds a 65% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
03:21General audiences were even more critical, giving the film a score of 55%.
03:26In contrast, Alien Romulus takes the franchise back to its roots.
03:30The plot largely resembles that of the original Alien, with a group of people trapped on a
03:35space station with xenomorphs and facehuggers running amok.
03:39Alien Romulus has ample Easter eggs and small details to dig into, as characters literally
03:45just quote previous Alien movies.
03:47However, there's no denying the results, with audiences responding to an Alien movie that
03:53knows it's an Alien movie.
03:55This place gives me the creeps.
03:58Mixed reviews may have kept people away from Alien Covenant, but the Rotten Tomatoes reviews
04:02for Alien Romulus were largely positive.
04:06Critics and audiences were on the same page with the newest installment, with the film
04:10scoring 81% and 86% on the platform, respectively, as of this video.
04:15Many appear to think the movie's a fun ride that's everything one could want out of another
04:19Alien entry.
04:21With The Atlantic writing in its review,
04:23"...Alien Romulus really shines when it plays like a straightforward Alien movie and doesn't
04:28pander to the demands of franchisable intellectual property."
04:31Interestingly, while some critics praised Romulus for getting back to the roots of the
04:35franchise, some reviews criticized the film for being too reliant on the past.
04:40The Washington Post issued a mostly positive review, while still asserting,
04:44"...it's a no-frills, straight-up genre piece built largely on the bones of the first two
04:50movies.
04:51All that's missing are originality and a convincing final act."
04:54While many people thought Covenant deviated too much from what had come before, some critics
04:59are now saying Romulus is almost too familiar.
05:01You can't please everyone, but these reviews and others likely convinced audiences that
05:06Romulus would give them precisely what they wanted out of an Alien flick.
05:10And sometimes, that's all you need.
05:13While Alien Covenant opened two weeks after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 back in 2017,
05:20Alien Romulus opened three weeks after a different Marvel movie, Deadpool and Wolverine, but
05:25fared much better.
05:27It's possible that the extra week was enough of a buffer for audiences, plus there really
05:31hasn't been anything that could compromise people's excitement over an Alien movie.
05:35It Ends With Us targeted a very different crowd, while Borderlands, coming out a week
05:40before on August 9th, utterly bombed at the box office.
05:44It's also been a solid summer for horror films and thrillers.
05:47Long Legs exceeded expectations earlier in July, taking in over $100 million globally
05:53against a budget of just $10 million.
05:56A Quiet Place Day One also blew everyone away at the box office, right before Long Legs
06:01came out.
06:02While the summer got off on a rocky footing with The Fall Guy and Furiosa a Mad Max Saga
06:06stumbling financially, audiences have been more receptive to seeing movies in theaters
06:12lately.
06:13While there were concerns that audiences were no longer interested in going to theaters
06:16in the advent of streaming, films like Romulus prove otherwise.
06:21When someone walks into an Alien movie, they can be pretty certain there will be ample
06:25kills courtesy of xenomorphs.
06:28Alien Romulus definitely fulfills that promise, featuring kills utilizing acid blood and a
06:33xenomorph bursting out of someone's chest.
06:36While all of that is largely what fans have seen before from this franchise, Romulus veers
06:41off into ridiculously amazing territory in its final act that had people talking, and
06:47may have enticed others to check out the film.
06:49The ending of Alien Romulus sees Kay inject herself with the black compound, later giving
06:55birth to a rapidly evolving entity known as the Offspring.
06:59One could say this bears similarities to the newborn from Alien Resurrection, but its aesthetic
07:04is far more grotesque.
07:06Its facial movements are far more advanced than what we got with the newborn, even smiling
07:11at one point, which is enough to send shivers down the spine.
07:14While many praised Romulus online, this final act reveal really got people worked up, such
07:19as one ex-user who wrote,
07:22The last 10 to 15 minutes of this movie features some of the most insane stuff I've seen in
07:27a movie ever.
07:28This kind of word-of-mouth is perfect for any horror film.
07:31What the hell is this?
07:34I don't know.
07:36The xenomorphs may be the main attraction of an alien movie, but there's no denying
07:41that Romulus also boasts a talented young cast.
07:44While previous installments have focused on space truckers and marines, Romulus sees a
07:48group of young people trying to avoid working for Weyland-Yutani for the rest of their lives,
07:54which brings them to the Renaissance Space Station.
07:57Some rising talent exists within these ranks, all of whom have bright futures ahead of them.
08:02The cast is led by Rain, played by Kayleigh Spaney, who made waves earlier in 2024 with
08:07Civil War, and jumped on many people's radars with the lead role in 2023's Priscilla.
08:13David Johnson has earned a great deal of praise for portraying the synthetic human Andy, who
08:18veers between brotherly care and cunning manipulation.
08:21Meanwhile, Isabella Merced has numerous credits to her name already, and she's poised for
08:27bigger breakouts next year with The Last of Us Season 2 and James Gunn's Superman.
08:32Having young actors with growing fan bases in the cast, it's possible that people who
08:36wouldn't otherwise be interested in an alien movie may have checked it out just for them.
08:41When looking at a movie's financial success, a film's budget is just as important a factor
08:46as the opening weekend box office numbers.
08:49Keeping the budget in check ensures that a movie doesn't have to break $1 billion to
08:53be seen as a success.
08:55And with that in mind, Alien Romulus should do just fine in the long run.
09:00Alien Romulus carries a budget of roughly $80 million, which is certainly a large chunk
09:04of dough, but is nowhere near what other blockbusters cost.
09:08While marketing expenses also need to be considered, Romulus opening with $108 million globally
09:15means it's on track to turn a profit if it gets to $200 million.
09:19Its leaner budget also puts it in an inherently better position than the most recent entries
09:24in the franchise.
09:25Prometheus had a budget of around $130 million, while Alien Covenant was also a bit higher
09:31than Romulus, at $97 million.
09:34With solid word of mouth, Romulus could have stellar legs.
09:38There also shouldn't be much in the way of competition in the coming weeks.
09:42The Crow remake comes out August 23rd, but predictions suggest it may not even top the
09:47original's box office haul from 30 years ago.
09:50For those wanting a heavy dose of nostalgia, Alien Romulus may still be their best ticket.
09:56One might assume a film in a long-running franchise can get by on name value alone.
10:01However, Alien Romulus proves that investing in a solid marketing strategy can bring dividends
10:07even for an existing IP.
10:09First and foremost, the Romulus trailers all had fans saying the same thing about how frightening
10:14the facehuggers were.
10:16The trailers also drew parallels to the original Alien and featured expert sound design that
10:21made the pre-chest-bursting sequence hit so much harder.
10:25Alien Romulus followed in the footsteps of other 2024 movies like Dune Part II and Deadpool
10:31and Wolverine by having its own custom popcorn bucket.
10:35The marketing also entered the real world with a viral stunt where people were lying
10:39motionless around Times Square with facehuggers attached to them.
10:43Plenty of folks took videos and photos, adding to the awareness and interest surrounding
10:47the movie.
10:48Name recognition is no longer enough to sell a movie.
10:51Even Marvel movies are no longer guaranteed hits, as evidenced by the Marvels bombing
10:56last year.
10:57The trailers showed off how utterly terrifying Alien Romulus would be, while real-world stunts
11:02got people talking even more.
11:04The campaign as a whole was a masterclass in raising awareness for a recognizable property,
11:10so it shouldn't be surprising that people's curiosity drew them to theaters on opening
11:14weekend.
11:16Going on Letterboxd, or X, following the opening of Alien Romulus is a treat just to see people's
11:21rankings for the franchise.
11:23While Alien and Aliens often get the top spots, some people have more eclectic tastes, asserting
11:28that Prometheus or even Alien 3 is the best.
11:31The only question is, what are you gonna do about it?"
11:36The truth is, the Alien franchise has taken many big chances over the decades, with each
11:42installment doing something a little different from what's come before.
11:46Alien Romulus is essentially a greatest hit of the franchise, offering a little something
11:50for everyone who's been invested in the series.
11:53At its core, the premise of any Alien movie is straightforward.
11:57Top a bunch of people with a killer xenomorph on the loose.
12:01Simultaneously, there's also a rich mythology that can be expanded upon, allowing for the
12:06exploration of numerous themes, from humankind confronting its creators to corporations taking
12:11often fatal advantage of its workers.
12:14It allows the franchise to evolve in new directions, with Alien Earth, a new TV series from Noah
12:20Hawley, coming to FX in 2025.
12:23With Alien Romulus, it's clear that Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox hasn't forced
12:28the studio to hold back on hard sci-fi and horror.
12:312024 alone has seen several stellar new series entries, like Kingdom of the Planet of the
12:36Apes and The First Omen.
12:39Alien Romulus continues that trajectory, setting up exciting things for this franchise's future.