TheAlienfranchise has a big hit thanks toAlien: Romulus' box office performance, as its domestic and worldwide opening total is excellent for the series. Director Fede Álvarez was responsible for relaunching Ridley Scott’s horror/action sci-fi franchise seven years afterAlien: Covenantdisappointed financially. Although the 2017 film was still the second-biggest release in the series, the pressure was put onAlien: Romulusto reinvigorate interest in the world after another divisive installment from Scott. Luckily,Alien: Romulus' reviewswere much more favorable ahead of its theatrical release.
ThebestAlienmovieshave typically been strong box office performers, which is why Disney was so eager to continue the franchise in some form after the 20th Century acquisition. The confidence in the film was emboldened when it was revealed thatAlien: Romulusswitched from a Hulu exclusive movie to getting a theatrical release. Disney and 20th Century’s faith inAlien: Romulusas a box office performer is now confirmed thanks to how much money it has made. The movie’s domestic, international, and worldwide box office totals are only going to continue to rise from this point on.
Alien: Romulus’ New Xenomorph Explained: Origin, Differences, & Future
Alien: Romulus introduces a new Xenomorph to the long-running franchise, and it’s one of the most frightening additions to the series in ages.
Alien: Romulus' Total Box Office (So Far)
It’s Early On, But Still Successful
Alien: Romuluscemented itself as a notable box office performer right away. After releasing on July 25, 2025, the seventhAlienmovie has abox office total of $315.3 million worldwideviaBox Office Mojo. This is largely thanks to the film’s strong performance overseas, where it made $217.2 million internationally. China provided a huge boost as the territory accounted for $93.6 million, making it the largest international location forAlien: Romulus' box office. This is where the movie’s total worldwide box office stands as of this writing.
This means thatAlien: Romulushas already outperformed its reported budget. According toVariety,Alien: Romulus' budget was $80 millionbefore marketing expenses. It only took the movie a few days to make more than its cost, setting up the film to be very successful for Disney and 20th Century overall. It should already be profitable for the studios since its box office total is nearly four times the budget. How big of a hit it is ultimately comes down to where the final box office totals land worldwide.
$80 million
$41.5 million
$66.7 million
$108.2 million
$98.1 million
$217.2 million
$315.3 million
Alien: Romulus' Opening Weekend Box Office
It Stacks Up Well For The Franchise & Among 2024 Releases
Looking more specifically atAlien: Romulus' opening weekend, the domestic performance is notable. The movie managed to make $41.5 million over its first three days. That is good enough to be thesecond-biggest opening weekend in theAlienfranchise’s history, falling only behindPrometheus' $51 million in 2012, not adjusted for inflation. The franchise comparisons showcase how impressiveAlien: Romulus' box office performance really is. Although the movies have a strong cultural footprint, they have not always been massive box office performers with record-breaking opening weekends.
Alien: Romulus Officially Unites The Entire Alien Movie Franchise After 45 Years
Alien: Romulus may seem like it is ignoring the Alien prequels, but the sequel is surprisingly the first Alien movie to unite the entire franchise.
More importantly,Alien: Romulus' opening weekend box office totalwas well above industry projections. There was some belief heading into the film’s first weekend that it might make less than $30 million during that time frame. That would have put the movie in the same group asThe Fall GuyorFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagaas major blockbusters with less-than-stellar opening weekends in 2024. Thanks to positive word of mouth,Alien: Romulusmanaged to overperform and deliver a victory for Disney and 20th Century by beingthe #1 movie at the box office that weekend, dethroningDeadpool & Wolverine.
Alien Resurrection and Prometheus are the only Alien movies not to open at #1 at the domestic box office
In terms of 2024 movies overall,Alien: Romulushad the 13th biggest opening weekend of the year when it was released on August 16. It did not come close to joining the $100M+ opening weekend group consisting ofDeadpool & WolverineandInside Out 2. It also made roughly half ofDune: Part TwoandTwisters. While its more in the middle of the pack at the 2024 box office overall,Alien: Romuluswas the third-biggest opening weekend for an R-rated movie this year, with onlyDeadpool & WolverineandBad Boys: Ride or Dietopping it.
How Alien: Romulus' Box Office Compares To Other Alien Movies
It Has Climbed Higher In The Franchise Ranks
Alien: Romulus' box office compared to otherAlienmovies is currently quite impressive. The movie has been in theaters for nearly a month, and it has come a long way from, at one point, being the lowest-grossing movie in the franchise - including theAlien vs. Predatormovies. The change has come through additional weeks of box office revenue being tabulated. The result isAlien: Romulusbecoming one of the biggestAlienmovies at the box office.
$11 million
$3.5 million
$81.9 million
$204.5 million
$18 million
$10 million
$85.1 million
$183.3 million
$50 million
$19.4 million
$55.4 million
$159.8 million
$70 million
$16.4 million
$47.7 million
$161.3 million
$130 million
$51 million
$126.4 million
$403.3 million
$95 million
$36.1 million
$74.2 million
$240.8 million
Based on the opening weekend performance,Alien: Romulus' domestic box office was already pacing ahead of most installments. It almost matched the entirety ofAlien Resurrection’s domestic run in just three days. The movie is now the second biggestAlienmovie at the box office, with onlyPrometheusmaking more. This was accomplished after surpassingAlien: Covenant’s box office total. It remains to be seen in ifAlien: Romuluscan catchPrometheusand give the franchise a new highest-grossing movie for the first time in 12 years.
Every Alien: Romulus Box Office Record & Milestone
It’s Been A Great Performer
Alien: Romulus' box office performance has allowed it to cross several notable milestones and set new records in the process. It hascrossed the $100 million, $200 million, and $300 million worldwide total milestonesthroughout its run. The latter is particularly impressive since the franchise has only ever accomplished that once before withPrometheus. The movie is also guaranteed to pass the $100 million domestic box office milestone, which has only been done once before in this series.
Alien: Romulushas also broken a few box office records for those involved in the movie. It is now directorFede Álvarez’s highest-grossing movie of his careerby a significant margin. It is also the biggest box office performer forAlien: Romuluscast membersCailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, and Aileen Wu. The movie has a long way to go to beat the box office records for Isabela Merced -Transformers: The Last Knight($605.4M) - and Spike Fearn -The Batman($772.2M).
What Alien: Romulus' Box Office Numbers Mean For The Franchise
The Future Looks Promising
The future of theAlienfranchise is uncertain, with Disney and 20th Century yet to confirm the development of any new movies, either as sequels building off ofAlien: Romulus' endingor other new ideas. This was likely to wait and see how strong of a performer the 2024 movie was before deciding on what the future would look like. The good news for the studios and audiences is thatAlien: Romulus' box office means that more opportunities to visit this world should be explored.
The next project in the series is neither a movie nor a sequel, asAlien: Earthwill go back to an earlier point in theAlientimeline and explore Weyland-Yutani’s history beforePrometheus. The TV show, developed by Noah Hawley, gives the franchise an opportunity to continue expanding without being too reactionary toAlien: Romulus. Discussions about a sequel or even Ridley Scott finishing his prequel trilogy can take place afterAlien: Romulus' final box office numbers are known and the studios can confidently know where the film franchise stands with modern audiences.
Luckily, there is little reason to believe thatAlien: Romulusis anything but a great sign for the franchise’s future. Disney and 20th Century should see the film’s success as a sign that audiences want to see more of this story unfold. There is a vast world and mythology worth exploring here, andAlien: Romulussets up massive new ideas that can be mined for future installments. The box office success should mean thatAlien: Romuluskicks off a new wave ofAlienmovies that will then have to live up to its financial expectations.
