Alien: Covenant Box Office Performance

[BishopShouldGo]

So just because a higher budgeted Alien film didn't do so well, that means these films don't justify it? Nonsense. Alien: Covenant was only targeting horror fans, and thus performed like it. And it also wasn't any good.

And as for DiCaprio... http://www.vulture.com/2010/12/paradise_found_ridley_scotts_a.html

Oh and as for Pitt... "For a hot minute, Pitt was interested in starring in Prometheus and, apparently, really responded to the script." http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-trek-into-darkness-world-war-z-520992

All very interesting wouldn't we all say?

[DestinyCaptain]

Well, I'll say it again... the theatre I went to was only full at one showing on opening day here in the US. The next fullest was only half. All remaining showings had less than 10 seats sold for each. This is a theatre that caters to geeks and nerds. It has run both Alien and Aliens this year. There was no enthusiasm for this film in the lobby that I could see. I just don't think Covenant has generated the interest that it needed.

[Prez]

Less than a week after release here in Australia the film was downgraded to smaller sized theatres screens at most popular local cinemas here in my hometown (Guardians Vol 2 was taking prime spot). My first viewing was on a much smaller screen at a popular cinema.

No real big name actors (bar Fass who lets face it isn't exactly mega star status).

Makes you think that regardless of our opinions of Blomkamp's Alien 5, the pulling power of Weaver (+ Hicks & Newt returning) would've been a banker at the box office.

[Noah]

So just because a higher budgeted Alien film didn't do so well, that means these films don't justify it? Nonsense. Alien: Covenant was only targeting horror fans, and thus performed like it. And it also wasn't any good

That's your personal opinion. Others may disagree.  Prometheus was also very froantloaded and its numbers were definitely inflated by the 3D. It's difficult to judge how mixed WOM played a role in its drops.  My point was that it's a franchise that appeals to a niche audience. Prometheus was promoted as an "original" sci-fi thriller and that helped,judging things  in retrospect. The fact that Scott was returning to direct an Alien film was also part of the marketing campaign and it created buzz. It's impossible to do a similar thing for a second sequel at this point.

And as for DiCaprio... http://www.vulture.com/2010/12/paradise_found_ridley_scotts_a.html

Oh and as for Pitt... "For a hot minute, Pitt was interested in starring in Prometheus and, apparently, really responded to the script." http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-trek-into-darkness-world-war-z-520992

All very interesting wouldn't we all say?

I said I didn't recall that DiCaprio was in the mix. I didn't say that it was impossible. And I vaguely remembered that initially they didn't reach an agreement. It's why I've remarked that Scott really supported him for the role. He was just an up-and-coming actor at the time. Scott and the other producers could have easily chosen another more known actor.  It wasn't a fallback choice. That was my point.
Pitt and DiCaprio would have been awful choices for this role. It doesn't suit their acting style  -and movie star persona-  in any way.
I prefer to have a less known actor who delivers and not miscast actors.
Given the reviews (audiences and critics),I don't know why some people are blaming Fassbender now but whatever..

[echobbase79]

It bums me out that the movie isn't doing better, but I knew it wouldn't after I saw it. This really isn't an Alien film at all. They're hardly in it and when they are it goes by way to fast.

This is David's movie and the audience doesn't care about that.

[Whos_Nick]

So we're looking at a bomb for Covenant. I was hoping it might do better, but the film has so much wasted potential.

[Anthony]

Let's just hope that if the series goes on a hiatus for a while, when Fox decides to bring it back, they don't go the reboot route.....

[GQSioux]

A big star like Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt definitely means something at the box office.  They guarantee a certain amount of interest.

DiCaprio is probably the only actor who can be considered a legit draw,but he always teams up with high profile directors for hyped films that most of the time  end up being  Oscars contenders. He doesn't make independent films.. Movie stars like Pitt,Cruise,Depp don't have a consistent track record anymore. Their star power don't necessarily translate in good BO performances.  My point was that people don't pay to see a particular actor anymore independently of the film. Also,adult-oriented dramas struggle most of the time because those are films that people see at home.  And I don't see any reason to compare actors like Fassbender,Gosling,Hardy  to Pitt,Cruise,Will Smith,DiCaprio because it doesn't make any sense.

My friend, that's your theory.  Sir Ridley wanted bigger stars for PROMETHEUS.  For example: Leonardo DiCaprio was the first choice for David. Michael Fassbender was his second choice.

I don't recall  DiCaprio being in the mix - he would have been completely wrong for the role-  but what is sure is that Scott really wanted Fassbender. There  are several articles that mention how Scott supported his casting even if he was un up-and-coming actor at the time who was still shooting all his future high profile films. Also,in the Sony leaked emails you can read Sony executives hinting at the fact that Scott goes around saying that he's the best actor working today. Draw your conclusion.
What Scott is doing is exactly what he wanted to do and Fassbender or anyone else is not playing any role. Logan and Harper are on record saying that they follow Scott's indications and Fassbender has always said that he trusts Scott and doesn't even try to ask about his future plans.


 

Daily breakdown of the movies verse each other at Box Office mojo.  This link has a lot of interesting stats.  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/showdowns/chart/?view=daily&id=covprom.htm Prometheus weekend breakdowns.  It made 20m second weekend.  I'll be surprised if Covenant does 12-13m given it's drop off this week.  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=prometheus.htm

Thanks! 12.3M is what they're predicting over 3-days weekend and 13,75 over four.
It's performing like Promtheus who fell 74% in its second Friday. While it's underwhelming,I don't know why people expected it to do perform like  Prometheus or even better. It's clear that it's a niche franchise,particularly frontloaded too. Without considering that Prometheus was divisive, to say the least,for fans as well.
If it pulls in 80M in domestic is not a disaster tbh.
As the Forbes' analyst noticed,even a 225M final gross would be decent for this. And,honestly,I can see it doing better than that without the Asian markets. If it pulls in something like 80M from those other markets,it will be fine.

You're not factoring in the weekly dropoff. We're already looking at more than a 70% drop on it's second weekend in the US. In Australia it's opening weekend gross was 80% less than that of Prometheus.

No,it dropped 40% in local currency. Those drops in USD reported by BOM were quite meaningless.

This dead horse needs a break...a nice long break.
Maybe only THEN we'll get something worthy of the franchise.

If the movie franchise is dead, we might still get some decent video games in the future. Its a tough pill to swallow because this is my favorite cinematic universe and I know it has more potential than what has been provided the last 30 years, but we could be at a point of no return.

I guess if Ridley Scott gave this franchise life then its only fitting that he kills it. Someone else said it before and it makes all the sense now...it feels like Covenant is a death kneel of the franchise.

Why all this pessimism?
The big mistake was to move this from August. It's an insanely crowded period for American and international releses. Pirates,Wonder Woman,The Mummy..  Films don't even have the time to establish themselves before losing screens for the next blockbuster.
But I don't see anyone talking about a flop.  Honestly,I don't see why Scott should leave the franchise without a conclusion if he agrees to work with a lower budget. The point is that these films don't justify a high budget anymore. That's all.

Not sure why people are calling it a flop. Something like King Arthur is a flop. Alien Covenant might've not met expectations, but it's not a flop. I too think the August date was better. That month is pretty dry this year. In fact, October would've been even better since it was marketed as a horror film.

[Robopadna]

A big star like Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt definitely means something at the box office.  They guarantee a certain amount of interest.

DiCaprio is probably the only actor who can be considered a legit draw,but he always teams up with high profile directors for hyped films that most of the time  end up being  Oscars contenders. He doesn't make independent films.. Movie stars like Pitt,Cruise,Depp don't have a consistent track record anymore. Their star power don't necessarily translate in good BO performances.  My point was that people don't pay to see a particular actor anymore independently of the film. Also,adult-oriented dramas struggle most of the time because those are films that people see at home.  And I don't see any reason to compare actors like Fassbender,Gosling,Hardy  to Pitt,Cruise,Will Smith,DiCaprio because it doesn't make any sense.

My friend, that's your theory.  Sir Ridley wanted bigger stars for PROMETHEUS.  For example: Leonardo DiCaprio was the first choice for David. Michael Fassbender was his second choice.

I don't recall  DiCaprio being in the mix - he would have been completely wrong for the role-  but what is sure is that Scott really wanted Fassbender. There  are several articles that mention how Scott supported his casting even if he was un up-and-coming actor at the time who was still shooting all his future high profile films. Also,in the Sony leaked emails you can read Sony executives hinting at the fact that Scott goes around saying that he's the best actor working today. Draw your conclusion.
What Scott is doing is exactly what he wanted to do and Fassbender or anyone else is not playing any role. Logan and Harper are on record saying that they follow Scott's indications and Fassbender has always said that he trusts Scott and doesn't even try to ask about his future plans.


 

Daily breakdown of the movies verse each other at Box Office mojo.  This link has a lot of interesting stats.  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/showdowns/chart/?view=daily&id=covprom.htm Prometheus weekend breakdowns.  It made 20m second weekend.  I'll be surprised if Covenant does 12-13m given it's drop off this week.  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=prometheus.htm

Thanks! 12.3M is what they're predicting over 3-days weekend and 13,75 over four.
It's performing like Promtheus who fell 74% in its second Friday. While it's underwhelming,I don't know why people expected it to do perform like  Prometheus or even better. It's clear that it's a niche franchise,particularly frontloaded too. Without considering that Prometheus was divisive, to say the least,for fans as well.
If it pulls in 80M in domestic is not a disaster tbh.
As the Forbes' analyst noticed,even a 225M final gross would be decent for this. And,honestly,I can see it doing better than that without the Asian markets. If it pulls in something like 80M from those other markets,it will be fine.

You're not factoring in the weekly dropoff. We're already looking at more than a 70% drop on it's second weekend in the US. In Australia it's opening weekend gross was 80% less than that of Prometheus.

No,it dropped 40% in local currency. Those drops in USD reported by BOM were quite meaningless.

This dead horse needs a break...a nice long break.
Maybe only THEN we'll get something worthy of the franchise.

If the movie franchise is dead, we might still get some decent video games in the future. Its a tough pill to swallow because this is my favorite cinematic universe and I know it has more potential than what has been provided the last 30 years, but we could be at a point of no return.

I guess if Ridley Scott gave this franchise life then its only fitting that he kills it. Someone else said it before and it makes all the sense now...it feels like Covenant is a death kneel of the franchise.

Why all this pessimism?
The big mistake was to move this from August. It's an insanely crowded period for American and international releses. Pirates,Wonder Woman,The Mummy..  Films don't even have the time to establish themselves before losing screens for the next blockbuster.
But I don't see anyone talking about a flop.  Honestly,I don't see why Scott should leave the franchise without a conclusion if he agrees to work with a lower budget. The point is that these films don't justify a high budget anymore. That's all.

Not sure why people are calling it a flop. Something like King Arthur is a flop. Alien Covenant might've not met expectations, but it's not a flop. I too think the August date was better. That month is pretty dry this year. In fact, October would've been even better since it was marketed as a horror film.

It's a flop just not as big as those. It's going to suffer a catastrophic drop this second weekend that would have been a 70+% loss if it wasn't Memorial Day.

[dkwookie]

A big star like Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt definitely means something at the box office.  They guarantee a certain amount of interest.

DiCaprio is probably the only actor who can be considered a legit draw,but he always teams up with high profile directors for hyped films that most of the time  end up being  Oscars contenders. He doesn't make independent films.. Movie stars like Pitt,Cruise,Depp don't have a consistent track record anymore. Their star power don't necessarily translate in good BO performances.  My point was that people don't pay to see a particular actor anymore independently of the film. Also,adult-oriented dramas struggle most of the time because those are films that people see at home.  And I don't see any reason to compare actors like Fassbender,Gosling,Hardy  to Pitt,Cruise,Will Smith,DiCaprio because it doesn't make any sense.

My friend, that's your theory.  Sir Ridley wanted bigger stars for PROMETHEUS.  For example: Leonardo DiCaprio was the first choice for David. Michael Fassbender was his second choice.

I don't recall  DiCaprio being in the mix - he would have been completely wrong for the role-  but what is sure is that Scott really wanted Fassbender. There  are several articles that mention how Scott supported his casting even if he was un up-and-coming actor at the time who was still shooting all his future high profile films. Also,in the Sony leaked emails you can read Sony executives hinting at the fact that Scott goes around saying that he's the best actor working today. Draw your conclusion.
What Scott is doing is exactly what he wanted to do and Fassbender or anyone else is not playing any role. Logan and Harper are on record saying that they follow Scott's indications and Fassbender has always said that he trusts Scott and doesn't even try to ask about his future plans.


 

Daily breakdown of the movies verse each other at Box Office mojo.  This link has a lot of interesting stats.  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/showdowns/chart/?view=daily&id=covprom.htm Prometheus weekend breakdowns.  It made 20m second weekend.  I'll be surprised if Covenant does 12-13m given it's drop off this week.  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=prometheus.htm

Thanks! 12.3M is what they're predicting over 3-days weekend and 13,75 over four.
It's performing like Promtheus who fell 74% in its second Friday. While it's underwhelming,I don't know why people expected it to do perform like  Prometheus or even better. It's clear that it's a niche franchise,particularly frontloaded too. Without considering that Prometheus was divisive, to say the least,for fans as well.
If it pulls in 80M in domestic is not a disaster tbh.
As the Forbes' analyst noticed,even a 225M final gross would be decent for this. And,honestly,I can see it doing better than that without the Asian markets. If it pulls in something like 80M from those other markets,it will be fine.

You're not factoring in the weekly dropoff. We're already looking at more than a 70% drop on it's second weekend in the US. In Australia it's opening weekend gross was 80% less than that of Prometheus.

No,it dropped 40% in local currency. Those drops in USD reported by BOM were quite meaningless.

This dead horse needs a break...a nice long break.
Maybe only THEN we'll get something worthy of the franchise.

If the movie franchise is dead, we might still get some decent video games in the future. Its a tough pill to swallow because this is my favorite cinematic universe and I know it has more potential than what has been provided the last 30 years, but we could be at a point of no return.

I guess if Ridley Scott gave this franchise life then its only fitting that he kills it. Someone else said it before and it makes all the sense now...it feels like Covenant is a death kneel of the franchise.

Why all this pessimism?
The big mistake was to move this from August. It's an insanely crowded period for American and international releses. Pirates,Wonder Woman,The Mummy..  Films don't even have the time to establish themselves before losing screens for the next blockbuster.
But I don't see anyone talking about a flop.  Honestly,I don't see why Scott should leave the franchise without a conclusion if he agrees to work with a lower budget. The point is that these films don't justify a high budget anymore. That's all.

Not sure why people are calling it a flop. Something like King Arthur is a flop. Alien Covenant might've not met expectations, but it's not a flop. I too think the August date was better. That month is pretty dry this year. In fact, October would've been even better since it was marketed as a horror film.

It's a flop just not as big as those. It's going to suffer a catastrophic drop this second weekend that would have been a 70+% loss if it wasn't Memorial Day.

It can't be called a flop until all the receipts are in. Resident Evil The Final Chapter was deemed a flop but then opened to 90+ million weekend in China going on to make 160 million there. That's now the biggest film of the series and so big they are doing an immediate reboot.

I don't for one second preditct AC will do that in China but then I never would have said RE TFC would make 90 mil opening.

You never know, so it's a little early to pronounce it as a flop. Wait until it's hit the full set of markets then call it a flop

[900SL]

Second weekend here, it's off the big screens and advance bookings are around 15-20% 

[Richman678]

I'm currently in a major city for the holiday weekend. Last weekend there was multiple places with IMAX listings. Now all I see is regular showings. So no IMAX at all.

Guys it's a flop.

[irn]

What went wrong? Was the marketing focused too strongly towards fans rather than general audiences? Was word of mouth after the week-early European release a drag on the US performance?

[marrerom]

What went wrong? Was the marketing focused too strongly towards fans rather than general audiences? Was word of mouth after the week-early European release a drag on the US performance?

It was stupidly released between gotg2 and pirates 5.

[Gash]

I read a box office analyst say that there are some sort of indicators like audiences are turned off by Fassbender.  If you look at his recent movies, it's overwhelmingly clear that he is not a box office draw like DiCaprio or Pitt.

But my post was more about how Fassbender could be the reason that David stole the spotlight in Covenant.  He probably wasn't interested in versions where Shaw was too smart to reattach his head, for example.  Who would want to play a decapitated head for an entire movie?  In the end, they got a movie where Fassbender plays two roles, has all the best scenes and lines, the new female lead is someone he liked working with before, and he creates the xeno and the movie ends with him gloating over his victory.  C'mon.  It's almost like the script was written just for him, don't you think?  It certainly wasn't exactly what Ridley or Rapace wanted.  It's either Fox or Fassbender, but I don't think Fox would have bothered sending Fassbender a script they didn't intend to green light... unless they needed Fassbender to be onboard.  Either way, I think I have pretty good cause to single out Fassbender as the person with ultimate veto power over the script.  If Scott liked it, he'd show it to Fox, and if they liked it, he'd show it to Fassy and see if he was available.

To summarize, I'd say Fassbender did hurt the movie's box office by being unhappy with earlier versions of the script, causing delays and questionable changes to the story.  Combined with the possibility that Fassbender is a turnoff to mainstream audiences, I think there is a good chance he did hurt this movie.

Well, I think that's all bullsh*t.

If the mass audience hasn't taken to him - and that's debatable, it probably has more to do with the fact that apart from X-Men Fassbender prefers more challenging and less commercial roles. - The Coucellor, 12 Years a Slave, Shame etc aren't going to endear him to the popcorn crowd. Maybe, like Scott, he's just more popular outside the US?