Alien: Romulus has passed a major global box office milestone that only one other movie in the franchise has passed so far. The new 2024 release, which was directed by Fede Álvarez and stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, and Archie Renaux, is the ninth installment in the franchise and takes place between the original 1979 classic Alien and its 1986 sequel Aliens. The Alien: Romulus box office started off strong with a $42 million opening weekend, quickly rising to become the second highest-grossing movie in the sci-fi horror series.
Per The Numbers, as of Sunday morning, Alien: Romulus is projected to have earned a cumulative worldwide box office gross of $314.4 million by the end of its fourth weekend in theaters. This makes it the second Alien movie to ever pass the $300 million milestone, after Prometheus did so during its original theatrical run in 2012. It is only the tenth 2024 release to pass this milestone, with the most recent beforehand being the record-smashing Marvel Cinematic Universe hit Deadpool & Wolverine.
What This Milestone Means For Alien: Romulus
Romulus Has Consistently Fallen Behind Prometheus
By passing the $300 million milestone, Alien: Romulus has drawn even closer to Prometheus‘ record as the highest-grossing installment in the franchise. The 2012 prequel legged out to a worldwide gross of $403.3 million, which means that the new movie still has to make an additional $88.9 million in order to surpass it and take the No. 1 slot. It remains to be seen if that is possible. Below, see how the movie’s status compares with the entire roster of Alien movies overall:
|
Title |
Worldwide Box Office |
|---|---|
|
Alien (1979) |
$184.7 million |
|
Aliens (1986) |
$183.3 million |
|
Alien 3 (1992) |
$159.8 million |
|
Alien Resurrection (1997) |
$161.4 million |
|
Alien vs. Predator (2004) |
$177.4 million |
|
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) |
$130.3 million |
|
Prometheus (2012) |
$403.3 million |
|
Alien: Covenant (2017) |
$240.9 million |
|
Alien: Romulus (2024) |
$314.4 million (and counting) |
Ultimately, it seems likely that the new movie will remain at No. 2 behind Prometheus. The Alien: Romulus release has trailed consistently behind the 2012 title, a habit that kicked off when it earned the second-best opening weekend of the franchise. This has continued with its fourth weekend, which is projected to bring in $3.9 million domestically, compared to Prometheus‘ $4.9 million in its own fourth weekend. This shows that the gap is not closing between the two movies, which will likely prevent Romulus from passing the $400 million milestone.
Our Take On Alien: Romulus’ Box Office Milestone
The New Movie Is Still A Solid Success
While Alien: Romulus probably will not become the highest-grossing movie in the franchise, it is nevertheless a major hit. This leaves the Alien movies in a unique position, as a sequel could complicate the franchise somewhat. The upcoming Alien: Earth will be bringing the universe to the small screen for the first time in 2025, so rushing a Romulus sequel into production could oversaturate the market, especially if further seasons are greenlit. However, a sequel seems more than likely in the face of this stellar box office, so an ongoing interconnected multimedia universe may be what is next.
Source: The Numbers