Romulus Aims for $100+ Million Global Box Office Debut

It’s been an exciting summer at the box office with “Deadpool & Wolverine” crossing $1 billion and breaking records, while “Borderlands” had an underwhelming debut last weekend. This weekend marked the release of “Alien: Romulus,” the latest installment in the sci-fi franchise that began in 1979. Currently, the movie holds an 81% critics score and an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. “Alien: Romulus” had a strong preview night and is now on track for an impressive $100 million worldwide opening.

According to Deadline, “Alien: Romulus” is expected to achieve a domestic opening between $40 million and $42 million this weekend. Internationally, the movie’s earnings are projected to be around $60 million, bringing its worldwide total to approximately $100 million for its opening weekend. The film is performing especially well in China, where it is expected to garner $23 million this weekend. This 20th Century Studios film is another major success for Disney, joining “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” in hitting the $1 billion mark quickly.

(Photo: “Alien: Romulus” – 20th Century Studios)

“Alien: Romulus” is described as more of a spinoff rather than a direct continuation of the “Alien” franchise. The story follows a group of young space colonizers who come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. Director Fede Álvarez shared that a deleted scene from James Cameron’s “Aliens,” which featured young colonists, inspired “Romulus”’ story.

“My first instinct, just to try something different that hasn’t been seen before, was to approach it from the angle of characters who are not professionals or scientists; they’re not even adults,” Álvarez said. “I liked this concept of putting people in the front seat of the story who are closer to what the audience is—not that the audience is young, more that the audience is completely virgin to the realities of space. When the characters are professionals, they know more than you do. But when they’re still in their early 20s, they don’t know how to operate the airlock.”

He continued, “All their parents probably worked on the same ship when they were kids, and that’s how they got to know each other. There’s a lot of history between them because they’re the only family they have. They truly act more like surrogate siblings; some of them even lived under the same roof. A lot of the big themes of the movie are about siblinghood and what does that mean? The ‘Romulus’ of it all, and the bigger plot with Weyland-Yutani, is actually connected to that as well.”

“Alien: Romulus” stars Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), and Aileen Wu. Fede Álvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”), based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.

“Alien: Romulus” is now playing in theaters.

Source: Deadline, Rotten Tomatoes