New ‘Alien’ Movie Draws Large Crowds in North America Theaters

New sci-fi horror film “Alien: Romulus” led the box office in North American theaters over the weekend, demonstrating the franchise’s ongoing ability to attract sizable audiences, analysts noted on Sunday.

The newest installment in the series that started with Ridley Scott’s 1979 hit “Alien” earned approximately $41.5 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research commented, “an excellent opening for a late-episode horror sequel.” 

Directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez (of 2013’s “Evil Dead”), “Romulus” depicts the story of space colonists who encounter a terrifying, face-eating alien while scavenging in an abandoned space station.

The movie stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, and Spike Fearn.

This strong performance surpassed Marvel’s superhero comedy “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which fell to second place with $29 million in its fourth weekend. Ryan Reynolds plays Deadpool and Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine.

Sony’s dramatic romance “It Ends With Us,” based on the Colleen Hoover novel, dropped to third place with a still-impressive $24 million.

In fourth place was Universal and Amblin Entertainment’s weather thriller “Twisters,” earning $9.8 million. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell in the standalone sequel to the 1996 classic disaster film.

The 15th anniversary re-release of stop-motion classic “Coraline” from Focus Features took fifth place with $8.4 million. Based on the Neil Gaiman novella, “Coraline” follows the story of a lonely 11-year-old who discovers an alternative universe behind a mysterious door.

Analyst Gross highlighted that successful summer sequels like “Romulus,” “Twisters,” and “Deadpool” were beneficial to the industry, providing employment opportunities for artists and filmmakers and allowing for creative risks.

The rest of the top 10 included:

“Despicable Me 4” ($6 million)

“Trap” ($3.4 million)

“Inside Out 2” ($3.2 million)

“Borderlands” ($2.4 million)

“Stree 2” ($2.3 million)

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