Alien Covenant will barely edge Guardians at the B.O.

Ridley Scott's Alien Covenant had early predictions of opening better than Prometheus ($51 million) since this time had our beloved xenomorph back. However a few people, like me, thought that 'Prometheus' turned-off so many of the older ALIEN franchise fans that it will hurt this sequel's box office chances. Apparently I was right. While earlier this month some were expecting a $55-$60 million opening, those predictions dwindle as the opening date approached and 'Alien Covenant' got almost identical reviews to the not-so-much-beloved 'Prometheus' with 73% RT score. On Friday it opened to decent, but not stellar numbers of $15.2 million and most websites predicted a $40 million opening. However Saturday numbers took a dive and unless today (Sunday) performs better, it seems headed to a $36.1 million weekend debut...barely edging Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2 $35+ million third weekend. If these numbers hold by Monday, then 'Alien Covenant' will be the third biggest opening of the franchise behind 'Prometheus' $51 million and 'Aliens vs Predator' $38 million.
"Alien Covenant" opened last week at the international markets with $40 million. The film had a lower budget than 'Prometheus' ($130 million) estimated at $97 million. 'Prometheus' performed better at the international screens and by the end of its run it had a worldwide gross of $403 million. 'Alien Covenant' might end up with similar numbers if it doesn't get swamped by the other summer releases.

 

As stated above Guardians of the Galaxy vol.2 ended its two weeks reign at the top and took $35.3 million and crossed the $300 million mark domestically.

Amy Schumer's Snatched took a distant third spot with $7.6 million. The comedy has grossed so far $32 million, a far cry from the $80+ million it needs to break even.

Bombing in the fourth spot, the reboot Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul debuted with a wimpy $7.2 million. Time to shelve away this dying franchise.

And in the fifth spot King Arthur: Legend of the Sword continues its spiraling down trajectory as the summer's biggest box office bomb: it barely grabbed $7 million.

 

We went to see Alien Covenant last Monday night in the city center and the theatre was about 25% full at a 7:15pm screening...