Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Box Office: 'Alien: Covenant' Slides Past 'Guardians 2' to Win Weekend With $36 Million

Published 2017-05-21, 12:52 p/m
Updated 2017-05-21, 01:00 p/m
© Reuters.  Box Office: 'Alien: Covenant' Slides Past 'Guardians 2' to Win Weekend With $36 Million

© Reuters. Box Office: 'Alien: Covenant' Slides Past 'Guardians 2' to Win Weekend With $36 Million

By Seth Kelley

LOS ANGELES, May 21 (Variety.com) - As this weekend approached, the question lingered if "Alien: Covenant" would be able to unseat "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" from the top spot at the domestic box office.

Now, we have an answer. As of Sunday morning, "Covenant," from 20th Century Fox and Scott Free Productions, looks to be the winner with a three-day estimate of $36 million from 3,761 locations. That's just above Disney's "Guardians" sequel which is raking in an additional $35.3 million from 4,347 spots. The super sequel is seeing only a 46% drop from last weekend, and its total domestic earnings now exceed $300 million.

While "Alien" may have won, the film's price tag in the $100 million range and marketing costs detract from the victory. The sixth installment in the Alien franchise (not counting the two Alien vs. Predator films) was directed by Ridley Scott and stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, and Danny McBride. It holds a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is in line with 2012's "Prometheus." Although it came in already having made $42 million overseas and $36 million was enough to land in the top slot, "Alien" grossed less during its first weekend in the U.S. than "Prometheus" did in 2012 ($51 million). Its final domestic earnings also came in below earlier projections, which pegged the horror flick at at least $40 million.

Fox's president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson chalked the lower totals compared with "Prometheus" to the "normal course of business." He added that "Alien: Covenant" gives fans of the franchise since the 1979 original the chance to share with the younger generation (60% of the opening weekend audience was in the 18-34 demo). "Teenagers likely haven't seen 'Alien,'" he said, "This movie creates a generational bond."

While the "Alien" franchise is still able to generate decent interest, the same cannot be said for Fox's other release this weekend, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul." The fourth live-action movie based on Jeff Kinney's middle school-centric book series opened to $7.2 million from 3,157 locations. David Bowers, who directed movies two and three, returned to the helm nearly five years after the last iteration, and anointed a new titular wimp in Jason Drucker.

The only other major release of the weekend was "Everything, Everything," from Warner Bros. and MGM. The sick-lit adaptation will earn $12 million by the end of the weekend from 2,801 locations. That's enough to land in the top three. "Hunger Games" standout Amandla Stenberg stars as a girl with an autoimmune disease that keeps her locked up indoors. Nick Robinson plays her love interest named Olly. "Everything, Everything" earned the highest CinemaScore of the new released (an A- overall). 82% of its audience was female, and 74% were under 25 years old.

"Along with our partners, MGM, we're thrilled that we hit our key demo," commented Jeff Goldstein, domestic distribution chief at Warner Bros.

Amy Schumer's "Snatched," also from Fox, will see an additional $7.6 million in earnings from 3,511 theaters, putting it in the fourth slot, ahead of "Wimpy Kid." Also in its second weekend, "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" continues to flop miserably with a weekend total of less than $7 million.

With Memorial Day weekend on the horizon, the overall domestic summer box office is ten percentage points lower than it was at this time last year. That means all eyes are fixed on a duo of splashy summer releases -- Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and Paramount's "Baywatch" -- to hopefully make up some ground.

"The dominance at this point by Disney and Marvel's early summer entry "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" is impressive having earned more than all the other films combined," said Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore, who noted that "Captain America: Civil War" accounted for more than half of the summer take at this point last year. "However, a slow start does not portend a slow overall summer as many have predicted," he added, "though if the ebb and flow of this season's fortunes thus far is any indication we may have to buckle up for a pretty bumpy ride."

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.