Alien: Covenant Box Office Performance

Started by John73, May 14, 2017, 05:51:54 PM

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Alien: Covenant Box Office Performance (Read 273,516 times)

kwisatz

kwisatz

#1545
Maybe the Japanese just arent in the mood for a film where some shit is dropped on a city and wipes out the entire population.

bb-15

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Sep 28, 2017, 11:32:47 AM
Really disappointed in the Japan BO, I honestly thought it would make more than that.

I'm not disappointed considering the situation.
"Alien Covenant" is on streaming. It is on Blu-ray.
It is easily available for those who have computers for streaming/shopping and the Japanese own computers.
- Only the most devoted Alien fans are going to pay to see it in a theater when it's so widely available.

* What A:C needs for its total box office is to get $4 million more in Japan and it will reach $242.5 million worldwide.
And that would put box office at 2.5 x its production budget which is reaching a decent milestone. 

;)

Ingwar

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Sep 29, 2017, 03:16:55 AM
Budget doesn't matter and A-listers aren't draws on their own.

People just want good content.

Exactly. People do want good content. However if you spent 100 millions + marketing cost + hire A-listed Hollywood star with A-listed director and well-known franchise movie flops then it's embarassing.

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯

Quote from: bb-15 on Sep 29, 2017, 06:44:21 AM
Alien Covenant" is on streaming. It is on Blu-ray.
It is easily available for those who have computers for streaming/shopping and the Japanese own computers.
- Only the most devoted Alien fans are going to pay to see it in a theater when it's so widely available.

Yes, but most Japanese don't speak or even understand English. Even less understand Spanish, German, French etc. So their only option is to wait for the Japanese theatrical release which is in their own language. Fox isn't stupid you know.

QuoteWhat A:C needs for its total box office is to get $4 million more in Japan and it will reach $242.5 million worldwide.
And that would put box office at 2.5 x its production budget which is reaching a decent milestone. 

Which is still below expectations no matter how you try and spin it. Fox already said the box office was "disappointing".

bb-15

bb-15

#1549
Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Sep 29, 2017, 02:54:18 PM
Quote from: bb-15 on Sep 29, 2017, 06:44:21 AM
Alien Covenant" is on streaming. It is on Blu-ray.
It is easily available for those who have computers for streaming/shopping and the Japanese own computers.
- Only the most devoted Alien fans are going to pay to see it in a theater when it's so widely available.

Yes, but most Japanese don't speak or even understand English. Even less understand Spanish, German, French etc. So their only option is to wait for the Japanese theatrical release which is in their own language.

1. Movie piracy can increase when a release of a legal film / TV series to a certain country is delayed. Japan's release dates are often later compared with Europe / US.
And piracy is easier when Blu-ray copies are available which can be ripped.
I'm not going to provide links because that could be seen as encouraging piracy which I do not condone.
- However, it is a fact that torrent copies of Alien Covenant exist and that Japanese subtitles are available for that.
- I believe that there are people in Japan who decided not to wait for A:C and they saw available pirated copies as an option and they knew the way to get Japanese subtitles for A:C torrents.

2. Legitimate copies of "Alien Covenant" are for sale in Japan right now.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/Alien-Covenant-Blu-ray-Import/dp/B071YLX9D7/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1506670235&sr=8-2&keywords=alien+covenant

A percent of the population does understand English and those could be lost ticket sales.
Also, I assume that enterprising people from Japan could rip the Blu-ray and then add Japanese subtitles.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Sep 29, 2017, 02:54:18 PMFox isn't stupid you know.

I never said that about Fox or anyone else. I try my hardest to not use insulting language like that on web forums.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Sep 29, 2017, 02:54:18 PM
QuoteWhat A:C needs for its total box office is to get $4 million more in Japan and it will reach $242.5 million worldwide.
And that would put box office at 2.5 x its production budget which is reaching a decent milestone. 

Which is still below expectations no matter how you try and spin it.

It is your privilege to label what I've written as "spin".
I don't see it that way. I believe that I am presenting facts which are relevant to the topic of this thread; 'Alien: Covenant Box Office Performance".

* Since the 1990s science fiction horror has never been in the top level, blockbuster territory.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films

- And Alien / AVP movies since "Aliens" have at best been mediocre with box office performance.

* Here are links about the long term box office performance of the science fiction/horror genre and the Alien franchise.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=scifihorror.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=alien.htm

- The Alien franchise even at its peak (A1 & A2) was never at the level of Star Wars. Even "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" beats any Alien movie in terms of box office.
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Star-Trek#tab=summary

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Sep 29, 2017, 02:54:18 PMFox already said the box office was "disappointing".

* Fox has said that A:C financially was a disappointment.
A studio is usually hoping to make as much money as the previous film in a franchise.
- When that doesn't happen, such as with A:C, the studio will often be disappointed.

* But the box office for "Alien Covenant" could have been worse.
Decent science fiction movies which had horror, "Sunshine" and "Life", were flops.
And so they didn't get sequels.

* Recently Fox is saying that they believe that Ridley could do another Alien franchise movie.
http://www.alien-covenant.com/news/fox-trust-ridley-scott-break-new-ground-with-alien-covenant-sequel

Why? One reason is because the box office for A:C is going to be about 2.5 x its production budget.
And why is that ratio of box office to production budget important?
Because several films with a box office / production budget ratio of about 2.5 x have gotten sequels.
(And if anyone here requests a list of such movies, I can post that.)

;)

Biomechanoid

Quote from: bb-15 on Sep 29, 2017, 07:14:16 PM
Decent science fiction movies which had horror, "Sunshine" and "Life" were flops.
And so they didn't get sequels.

Hey there bb-15, good to see you again. sfmzone of the old imdb days, here. What did you think of "Life" 2017?

I found the alien's physiology an intriguing concept. Each cell functioning simultaneously as a muscle cell, nerve cell,  and photoreceptive cell. Or as Miranda put it, all muscle, all brain, all eye. I'm not claiming it's original. I'm just saying it's the first I've been exposed to that concept in cinema/literature.

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯

Quote from: bb-15 on Sep 29, 2017, 07:14:16 PM
A percent of the population does understand English and those could be lost ticket sales.

Yeah, less than 10%.

QuoteHowever, it is a fact that torrent copies of Alien Covenant exist and that Japanese subtitles are available for that.
I believe that there are people in Japan who decided not to wait for A:C and they saw available pirated copies as an option and they knew the way to get Japanese subtitles for A:C torrents.

I'm sure the vast majority of potential viewers would rather wait for the official and professionally dubbed version rather than downloading illegal rips with iffy do-it-yourself subtitles.

QuoteRecently Fox is saying that they believe that Ridley could do another Alien franchise movie. Why? One reason is because the box office for A:C is going to be about 2.5 x its production budget.
And why is that ratio of box office to production budget important?
Because several films with a box office / production budget ratio of about 2.5 x have gotten sequels.
(And if anyone here requests a list of such movies, I can post that.)

Yeah but it doesn't look like they're interested in making a sequel to Covenant.

"It was a disappointment, but I trust Ridley [Scott] and Emma [Watts] to know the right story when they find it.
-Stacey Snider Fox CEO"

Seeing as Covenant's sequel was already written long before Snider made that comment it seems obvious they're not keen on going with it anymore. At least in it's current form.

Scorpio

Doesn't mean anything.  They changed Prometheus from an Alien Prequel and Covenant was supposed to be Paradise Lost and more of a direct sequel to Prometheus.

Just means they are changing the script.

Darth Vile

Box office globally is on the decline. Alien Covenant has suffered because of this trend... Too much competition, not just in terms of competing films, but event TV, which is influencing viewers to watch drama from the comfort of their own arm chair. There's little the Alien franchise can do at this point to break that trend, other than produce a film that is universally popular and becomes an 'event' film, but obviously if it were that easy everyone would be doing it. No doubt the execs probably believe the only way of doing that is with a reboot. Saying that, this is also about presence in the market place, and if Scott wants to make another one, I'm sure he'll e afforded that opportunity.

Scorpio

There are many movies that failed at the box office this year and Alien Covenant is not one of them.

bb-15

bb-15

#1555
Quote from: Biomechanoid on Sep 29, 2017, 07:42:47 PM
Quote from: bb-15 on Sep 29, 2017, 07:14:16 PM
Decent science fiction movies which had horror, "Sunshine" and "Life" were flops.
And so they didn't get sequels.

Hey there bb-15, good to see you again. sfmzone of the old imdb days, here.

Hi SFMzone! (Biomechanoid) Good to hear from you.

Quote from: Biomechanoid on Sep 29, 2017, 07:42:47 PMWhat did you think of "Life" 2017?

I found the alien's physiology an intriguing concept. Each cell functioning simultaneously as a muscle cell, nerve cell,  and photoreceptive cell. Or as Miranda put it, all muscle, all brain, all eye. I'm not claiming it's original. I'm just saying it's the first I've been exposed to that concept in cinema/literature.

Agreed that the alien in "Life" was interesting with each cell acting in some ways as a complete organism.
A variation of this idea, of an alien being composed of multiple independent organisms, was mentioned in "The Thing" (1982) by MacReady before he did his blood test.

In addition; I figure you've seen the classic "The Thing From Another World". In that movie the aliens first grow as small plants. Baby Calvin (the alien in "Life") reminded me of this.
Then in "Life" there is the mouth rape trope and fast growth (from "Alien").

* Overall imo "Life" is worth watching though I prefer "Alien Covenant" much more.
As you can see I'm still in the role of a defender of the Alien franchise as I was on IMDb. And so it continues... LOL!

;)

PS. And back to the topic of the thread. "Covenant" has made enough money, compared with its production budget, that Fox is leaning towards making another Alien movie with Ridley at the helm. I'm hopeful since as you know I enjoy the franchise quite a bit.

Biomechanoid

Quote from: bb-15 on Oct 01, 2017, 07:37:18 AM
Agreed that the alien in "Life" was interesting with each cell acting in some ways as a complete organism.
A variation of this idea, of an alien being composed of multiple independent organisms, was mentioned in "The Thing" (1982) by MacReady before he did his blood test.

Agree that we can pick a few traits similar to The Thing and Alien, perhaps then maybe it was the presentation and tension of the creature's threat that affected my perception. I mean, hard to find a review on Life that doesn't mention Alien. The Thing film or novella don't really describe the individual, but thinking it further, seems logical the alien cell of The Thing would need multiple functions like muscle and nerve. Anyway, this is off topic from the thread......so....

Quote from: bb-15 on Oct 01, 2017, 07:37:18 AM
And back to the topic of the thread. "Covenant" has made enough money, compared with its production budget, that Fox is leaning towards making another Alien movie with Ridley at the helm. I'm hopeful since as you know I enjoy the franchise quite a bit.

I still reference IMDB quite a bit and saw recently a top summer movie list, which Covenant was in the top ten, I think it was at 7. The breakdown of percentages, net profits, etc......we really don't know for sure. Popular numbers have been bounced around among us fantasy studio executives, such as the studio receives 40-50% of gross return, is the most popular. But we really don't know. No studio is required to comply with the percentages we fans came up with. 

Both Life and Covenant I have already done replays. If I'm voluntarily doing a replay of a film, it must have made some sort of impact on me.

bb-15

Quote from: Biomechanoid on Oct 01, 2017, 06:27:42 PM
Quote from: bb-15 on Oct 01, 2017, 07:37:18 AM
And back to the topic of the thread. "Covenant" has made enough money, compared with its production budget, that Fox is leaning towards making another Alien movie with Ridley at the helm. I'm hopeful since as you know I enjoy the franchise quite a bit.

I still reference IMDB quite a bit and saw recently a top summer movie list, which Covenant was in the top ten, I think it was at 7. The breakdown of percentages, net profits, etc......we really don't know for sure. Popular numbers have been bounced around among us fantasy studio executives, such as the studio receives 40-50% of gross return, is the most popular. But we really don't know. No studio is required to comply with the percentages we fans came up with. 

Both Life and Covenant I have already done replays. If I'm voluntarily doing a replay of a film, it must have made some sort of impact on me.

- "Life" had its good / interesting moments. I encourage everyone here to see it.
Sadly its box office didn't do well which continues the trend where sci-if / horror is often neglected.
Look at "The Thing" from 1982. I think it's brilliant but it flopped at the box office.

- With "Covenant", I'm doing my part. :D Besides seeing it in a theater twice I own a copy on Blu-ray/streaming.
For my personal taste it was very enjoyable.

* As for studio finances, I agree that Hollywood accounting is a mysterious subject with some strange results.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting

* I can only guess at what Fox cares about with the box office performance of an Alien movie.
- My current speculation is that studios are hoping that a film will have box office at least 2x the production budget to avoid a flop.
If the box office gets to 2.5 x the production budget, then that's in the range where a sequel is possible.

* Current box office for "Covenant" has reached $240 million.
Worldwide:    $240,085,541   
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=alienparadiselost.htm

- Japan is doing well enough. I'm hopeful that the final box office will be at least in the $243 million range (~2.5 x the production budget).

;)

Daszkowski

US Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs for the Week Ended 09/30/17

12 (9) Alien: Covenant - 7 weeks on chart

Chart Run: 1-2-4-5-7-9-12

Source: http://www.homemediamagazine.com/category/hmm/news/research

Alionic

Ridley Scott flat out says Alien: Covenant made enough money for Fox to greenlight a sequel on the recent empire podcast.

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