Alien: Covenant Box Office Performance

[Gash]

This is the problem. American audiences largely found Baywatch and Pirates a better film.

Doesn't reflect too well on American audiences then. Still, I'm sure there are some discerning ones.

[Jonesy1974]

This is the problem. American audiences largely found Baywatch and Pirates a better film.

Doesn't reflect too well on American audiences then. Still, I'm sure there are some discerning ones.

The rock and Depp (particularly as sparrow) are big draws at the BO regardless of the quality of the film unfortunately.

[oduodu]

Apologies when I said masses I meant the overall casual fans who know of alien butt not its lore. Its a pity people don't the story behind the story.

Prometheus probably set out t achieve that as it would reignite interest . Problem is you can't replace the old lore with new lore and not follow up on it especially  without Ripley in the mix. She carried the series after alien. Weaver star power made aliens great. And so also alien 3 and rez. She is an incredible actress. 2 generations of her can't just be replaced with "nothing". Hence Prometheus.

[Kane's other son]

Cameron at his peak made Aliens great.
Weaver didn't carry the series. Alien 3 was a financial disappointment, Resurrection a flop that almost killed the franchise.

[oduodu]

I disagree. Weaver as Ripley the protaganist against the alien the antagonist was at least 65% what made aliens great. Cameron was the rest.

[Gash]

I'm in two minds about the character of Ripley. She was a survivor by chance in ALIEN and I have little interest in her beyond that - although her conclusion in Alien3 was interesting.

But if Ripley hadn't of been in Aliens I would have had zero interest in seeing an Alien sequel done by the Terminator guy. So Ripley was the hook there. Shame she still couldn't salvage it.

[JohnnyChimpo]

I'm in two minds about the character of Ripley. She was a survivor by chance in ALIEN and I have little interest in her beyond that - although her conclusion in Alien3 was interesting.

But if Ripley hadn't of been in Aliens I would have had zero interest in seeing an Alien sequel done by the Terminator guy. So Ripley was the hook there. Shame she still couldn't salvage it.

Why do you look down your nose so much at Aliens?

[Denton Smalls]

This is the problem. American audiences largely found Baywatch and Pirates a better film.

Doesn't reflect too well on American audiences then. Still, I'm sure there are some discerning ones.

You need to close your mouth about taking out YOUR frustration on an entire nation's audience.

I found your comment prejudicial and insulting being from America.

Stop being a petulant child. I didn't say "it doesn't reflect well on you" because you enjoyed a movie that I didn't. Grow up.

[Gash]

This is the problem. American audiences largely found Baywatch and Pirates a better film.

Doesn't reflect too well on American audiences then. Still, I'm sure there are some discerning ones.

You need to close your mouth about taking out YOUR frustration on an entire nation's audience.

I found your comment prejudicial and insulting being from America.

Stop being a petulant child. I didn't say "it doesn't reflect well on you" because you enjoyed a movie that I didn't. Grow up.

You need to read it again. I didn't bring up the issue of American audiences - I said that viewpoint doesn't reflect well on American audiences and there must be some discerning ones - meaning people who don't prefer Baywatch.

Why do you look down your nose so much at Aliens?

Just way too overrated. It's a competent but simplified rehash that screws with ALIEN lore as much as, if not more than, Alien Covenant is presumed to. The hurt that many Aliens fans are feeling I can relate to as it's much as I felt in 1986 after sitting through their esteemed classic.

Still, the queen is dead (for now) long live David.

[windebieste]

Long live David.

Embrace the New Canon.

-Windebieste.

[Jonesy1974]

Why do you look down your nose so much at Aliens?

Just way too overrated. It's a competent but simplified rehash that screws with ALIEN lore as much as, if not more than, Alien Covenant is presumed to. The hurt that many Aliens fans are feeling I can relate to as it's much as I felt in 1986 after sitting through their esteemed classic.

Still, the queen is dead (for now) long live David.
[/quote]

^ this is so true. I like Aliens but it always annoyed me that Cameron took the nightmarish creature from my childhood and turned it into cannon fodder just so he can have a bigger one!

[Kerrod33]

I may sound really stupid in saying this (but I haven't been one to follow box office ratings),  but wasn't the budget for this film $97mil? And from what I have seen it has earnt in the region of $150mil, isn't that a profit? Doesn't seem like a bomb to me... and I quite enjoyed the film. If I don't leave the cinema and ask questions or talk about the film, then it's a failure in my book

[Denton Smalls]

I may sound really stupid in saying this (but I haven't been one to follow box office ratings),  but wasn't the budget for this film $97mil? And from what I have seen it has earnt in the region of $150mil, isn't that a profit? Doesn't seem like a bomb to me... and I quite enjoyed the film. If I don't leave the cinema and ask questions or talk about the film, then it's a failure in my book

It's weird, man. That does seem like a solid profit, but studios usually need a considerably high margin for their films to be considered a commercial success.

Also, in addition to the $97 mil production cost, the cost of marketing was most likely substantial, so in that regard, I'm not sure the film did much better than break even yet, if that.

We are in a strange cinematic era where the only films that seem to do well (outside animated or live action kids' movies like "Beauty and the Beast" or "Boss Baby") are monster budget comic book films that flood the market and appeal to a massively large audience demographic, or micro budget genre movies like "The Purge" franchise, "Get Out," "Don't Breathe" or "Split," which are made on such a cheap budget that even a ~$100 mil worldwide box office haul is considered successful on a $5-$20 mil budget.

Blumhouse is an example of a studio that churns these lower budget films out regularly. It makes me wonder if Alien might do better if it were made as more of an independent movie.

[fiveways]

I may sound really stupid in saying this (but I haven't been one to follow box office ratings),  but wasn't the budget for this film $97mil? And from what I have seen it has earnt in the region of $150mil, isn't that a profit? Doesn't seem like a bomb to me... and I quite enjoyed the film. If I don't leave the cinema and ask questions or talk about the film, then it's a failure in my book

$97m is after tax breaks.  The real budget is more like $110m.  Take that number and double it and you have the baseline break even number after advertising, print cost, distribution, and all the back end stuff not involved in movies.  Rough guess that break even point is minimum around $210m.

[Gash]

Blumhouse is an example of a studio that churns these lower budget films out regularly. It makes me wonder if Alien might do better if it were made as more of an independent movie.

I used to think that Alien as a TV series wouldn't work, but given that Westworld is essentially a well crafted melding of Weswtorld (the film) and Blade Runner, maybe Alien could work as a TV series - if it was one of those ones that didn't pull it's punches anyway. Blimey if Wolf Creek can get a TV series i'd have thought Alien could.