Alien: Romulus Box Office Pushes Film to Become Second-Biggest Hit in the Franchise

The newest Alien movie continues to be one of the series' most successful.

By Charlie Ridgely

The newest entry in the long-running Alien franchise was a quick hit at the box office when it debuted last month, with Alien: Romulus earning $42 million in its opening frame. That was good enough for the second-biggest opening ever for the franchise, trailing only 2012's Prometheus. Now, a couple of weeks later, Alien: Romulus has now taken over another second-place spot in the all-time Alien box office rankings.

When the dust settles on Labor Day Weekend, Alien: Romulus is expected to sit at a worldwide box office gross of $283.5 million. That puts the Fede Alvarez film well ahead of the previous second-place Alien movie, 2017's Alien: Covenant. That movie tapped out at just over $240 million worldwide.

The only film ahead of Alien: Romulus a far as the all-time franchise standings is Prometheus, the same film that delivered the series' biggest opening weekend. It will take Romulus quite a bit more if it wants to catch Prometheus and take the overall Alien box office crown. More than a decade ago, Ridley Scott's return to the series made just over $403 million, which still leads the entire franchise.

An Alien: Romulus Sequel?

Given this fantastic box office performance, Alien fans will obviously be wondering if Romulus has opened the door for another entry into the franchise.

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Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter recently, Alvarez was asked about a potential Romulus sequel. While it wasn't on the forefront of his mind during the film, he definitely thought about ways the story could be extended after the fact.

"Yes, I definitely can. We tend to do that naturally, not even thinking about sequels. For us, movies have not become franchises, tentpoles, and sequels," the director said. "This is a language that I've only learned in the last ten years of my life working here. For me, it's always been about story. So, once we finished, we started thinking, 'What do you think happens when or if they get to your Yvaga? Is it going to be great? Or is it a terrible place?' We tend to believe it's probably a terrible place that they think is great and fantasize about, so we naturally started thinking about where it goes and what's going to happen. And then, a few minutes in, we go, 'Oh, that sounds like a sequel.'

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