Alien: Covenant Box Office Performance

[Le Celticant]

The major reason it does not do well is that they released it the after GOTG2 and before Pirates of the Caribbean. Also the trailers were not as good as the film deserved. I hope they make at least one more.I want to see the next film end before Alien starts.

To be honest it doesn't do good because it ain't that good.
It had the same symptom I hear of people liking prometheus.

Internet's/Magazine's critics are a minority among population thought on the film.
I don't know if you've "probed" your friends, their friends, you brother/sister friend's but the general reaction is "I don't remember it" or "I didn"t care" or "no interest" with or without Alien (and I'm speaking of people who have absolutely no knowledge of Alien and don't even remember the original films).
Once in a while you encounter someone who has Alien licence knowledge and he's like super indulgent and actually liked the film or just... hated it. And a lot of the problem I see with critic is that "Ridley is back to genre" presuming already that the critic has first hand knowledge that he did the original and probably liked it so have an opinion about it.

Both film have their problem which are quite different. Prometheus suffers the same thing Phantom Menace suffer: A messy editing that tries to tell 20 things in a gap of 4 minutes (Shaw C-sec, Fifield, Weyland revelation and Engineer meeting / Gungan Fight, Space Fight, Jedi Fight, Queen fight all unfolding more or less on their own making you go through a rainbow of emotion in 20 seconds).
Covenant really point to another problem (than the script) that Ridley had for years now in his most recent films, his characters are 1D flat line. The Alien prequel stuff would have been so much better centers on David's side from start to finish than following unknown random lead that seems to have less and less character and ultimately get killed by the antagonist that is the only interesting film of the film.

Also, this kind of "In the middle movie" that is a sequel to a film and a prequel to an unreleased film tend to scares people away. It's not marketed this way but people will talk about it. And if you watch it and have never watch prometheus nor Alien you gonna wonder "what da hell did I just watched?" whereas you could watch ALIENS without having seen ALIEN and it was perfectly comprehensible. Part of that is why ALIEN³ failed at the box office IMO but it still managed like ALIEN and ALIENS to actually have an ending and not a "to be continued".

[Cornbreadguy]

Only 1, 2, and 3 are the real Alien movies for me. Alien 4 redeemed after seeing Alien Covenant. If anything for the better characterization, mercenaries and risks it took making that silly hybrid creature.

Alien Covenant, while better than the god awful Prometheus movie, screwed up everything in my opinion. Pretty much everything AngryJoe talked about in his spoilers video is spot on.

[Hemi]

I ask myself the question: Would this movie be better if it had nothing to do with Prometheus. No David, no engineers. Simply a fleshed out story about a crew of the Covenant landing on a planet, finding shit and it all goes to hell. (basically what the Alien franchise is all about...) Leaving enough room for the story to breathe and not waste time with the elements of Prometheus.

Either way... both sides seem to be fcked now. We didn't get Prometheus 2 and we didn't get an Alien movie that's worthy of the name.

Shame..

[LiquidMonster]

I personally would rather see the return of Ripley for one last go and just have Fox greenlight Blomkamp's "ALIEN V" story/pitch. I'd almost guarantee you it would smoke Alien: Covenant at the box office. Ridley has lost his way and is now acting like a spoiled child who is taking his ball and not only going home with it, he's filling it with holes. He's the one who stopped Neil's movie, he pretty much admitted it. Meanwhile, he's destroying what little is left of his ALIEN legacy on the big screen with sequels that are poorly written, explained and simply don't fit into the ALIEN verse imho. Don't know about anyone else but ALIEN and ALIENS are still the only two xeno films I personally view as canon. Prometheus and A:C are as bad as Alien 3 and Resurrection; ie: two sequels that weren't needed when it seemed like fans were hyped for Neil's film. Ridley used that hype for his own gain and screwed Blomkamp up the bum. If there *are* anymore ALIEN movies, the only one I will see is the one directed by Neil Blomkamp closing out the Ripley storyline proper. 

[Hemi]

I personally would rather see the return of Ripley for one last go and just have Fox greenlight Blomkamp's "ALIEN V" story/pitch. I'd almost guarantee you it would smoke Alien: Covenant at the box office. Ridley has lost his way and is now acting like a spoiled child who is taking his ball and not only going home with it, he's filling it with holes. He's the one who stopped Neil's movie, he pretty much admitted it. Meanwhile, he's destroying what little is left of his ALIEN legacy on the big screen with sequels that are poorly written, explained and simply don't fit into the ALIEN verse imho. Don't know about anyone else but ALIEN and ALIENS are still the only two xeno films I personally view as canon. Prometheus and A:C are as bad as Alien 3 and Resurrection; ie: two sequels that weren't needed when it seemed like fans were hyped for Neil's film. Ridley used that hype for his own gain and screwed Blomkamp up the bum. If there *are* anymore ALIEN movies, the only one I will see is the one directed by Neil Blomkamp closing out the Ripley storyline proper. 

rather have no more Alien tbh. Blomkamps ALIEN V sounds like AVPR all over again. Total fanservice, no thank you.

[gantarat]

Even Aliens Blomkamps happen story would not be like his pitch idea (ignore Alien 3,4)

Fox will force him to change Movie set after alien 4 (or between 3,4) and probably no weaver (unless she want play Ribley 8 again.)

[acidreign]

Let's face it: the Alien franchise, despite its relative prestige among genre movie fans, is a niche legacy series that is long past its sell-by date, commercially speaking.

The first two Alien films may have been blockbusters in their time but the moviegoing landscape was also completely different then. Now superhero films, (X-men/Marvel/DC), Disney, Fast & the Furious and Star Wars are the only big-budget ($100 million-plus range) franchises guaranteed to make any money. Everything else is a gamble at best. Movies in general are struggling to compete with a myriad of home viewing options such as prestige cable shows, streaming, and video games.

Covenant already had a lot going against it: as a sequel to Prometheus, it inherited baggage from a movie that was extremely divisive and controversial among fans and audiences. Also being an R-rated science fiction  film, Covenant's potential audience is limited to start with. [Deadpool and Logan may have done well with R-ratings but they are part of the commercially established superhero genre.] And Covenant itself is a weird, idiosyncratic film with a lot of contradictory elements bound to alienate just as many fans and general audience members as its predecessor. Personally I liked the film a lot, but it's not exactly a movie that satisfies the demands of a mainstream audience.

You gotta give Fox credit for trying at least. They marketed the hell out of the movie. Probably to a fault.

[windebieste]

I personally would rather see the return of Ripley for one last go and just have Fox greenlight Blomkamp's "ALIEN V" story/pitch. I'd almost guarantee you it would smoke Alien: Covenant at the box office. Ridley has lost his way and is now acting like a spoiled child who is taking his ball and not only going home with it, he's filling it with holes. He's the one who stopped Neil's movie, he pretty much admitted it. Meanwhile, he's destroying what little is left of his ALIEN legacy on the big screen with sequels that are poorly written, explained and simply don't fit into the ALIEN verse imho. Don't know about anyone else but ALIEN and ALIENS are still the only two xeno films I personally view as canon. Prometheus and A:C are as bad as Alien 3 and Resurrection; ie: two sequels that weren't needed when it seemed like fans were hyped for Neil's film. Ridley used that hype for his own gain and screwed Blomkamp up the bum. If there *are* anymore ALIEN movies, the only one I will see is the one directed by Neil Blomkamp closing out the Ripley storyline proper. 

Ripley's story was already 'closed out proper' at the end of 'ALIEN 3'.    Deal with it, already.

'ALIEN 3', 'PROMETHEUS' and 'ALIEN: Covenant' are all good movies.  You might like to deal with that, too.

While you're at it, you might like to face the fact that Blomkamp's proposal is history.  In all honesty, it should never have gotten any publicity at all.  It's done no one any good - especially the minute Weaver was publicly associated with it.  There's nothing more pitiful than fan boys being 'cock teased' by a 70 year old woman

The proposal is gone, thrown under the bus, tossed into the furnace and cooked with an apple in it's mouth.  It's history. 

Embrace the New Canon, I say.  ...or forever live in 1986 with false hopes and broken dreams of whoring out the old woman just one more time...

-Windebieste.

[Jonesy1974]

Let's face it: the Alien franchise, despite its relative prestige among genre movie fans, is a niche legacy series that is long past its sell-by date, commercially speaking.

The first two Alien films may have been blockbusters in their time but the moviegoing landscape was also completely different then. Now superhero films, (X-men/Marvel/DC), Disney, Fast & the Furious and Star Wars are the only big-budget ($100 million-plus range) franchises guaranteed to make any money. Everything else is a gamble at best. Movies in general are struggling to compete with a myriad of home viewing options such as prestige cable shows, streaming, and video games.

Covenant already had a lot going against it: as a sequel to Prometheus, it inherited baggage from a movie that was extremely divisive and controversial among fans and audiences. Also being an R-rated science fiction  film, Covenant's potential audience is limited to start with. [Deadpool and Logan may have done well with R-ratings but they are part of the commercially established superhero genre.] And Covenant itself is a weird, idiosyncratic film with a lot of contradictory elements bound to alienate just as many fans and general audience members as its predecessor. Personally I liked the film a lot, but it's not exactly a movie that satisfies the demands of a mainstream audience.

You gotta give Fox credit for trying at least. They marketed the hell out of the movie. Probably to a fault.

Agree with you on all those points.

[YutaniDitch]

http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/custom-comparisons/Alien-Covenant/Prometheus

The comparison graph above clearly shows COVENANT's utter BO failure and AC will have a very hard time covering its production budget (minus the marketing, 'reels', theaters cut, and other costs) domestically... And it looks more and more like the lesser budget will also make less dividends, which kinda conflicts with the whole idea of maximizing revenue while minimizing costs...

I personally would rather see the return of Ripley for one last go and just have Fox greenlight Blomkamp's "ALIEN V" story/pitch. I'd almost guarantee you it would smoke Alien: Covenant at the box office. Ridley has lost his way and is now acting like a spoiled child who is taking his ball and not only going home with it, he's filling it with holes. He's the one who stopped Neil's movie, he pretty much admitted it. Meanwhile, he's destroying what little is left of his ALIEN legacy on the big screen with sequels that are poorly written, explained and simply don't fit into the ALIEN verse imho. Don't know about anyone else but ALIEN and ALIENS are still the only two xeno films I personally view as canon. Prometheus and A:C are as bad as Alien 3 and Resurrection; ie: two sequels that weren't needed when it seemed like fans were hyped for Neil's film. Ridley used that hype for his own gain and screwed Blomkamp up the bum. If there *are* anymore ALIEN movies, the only one I will see is the one directed by Neil Blomkamp closing out the Ripley storyline proper.

Blomkamp's movie could still happen, especially after the BO debacle COVENANT is proving to be... I would not dismiss that movie just yet... On the other hand, I do not like Blomkamp's retcon... The real Ripley is dead, and not only you  would have to retcon everything after ALIENS, you would have to explain why... Multiple timelines, dimensions, whatever... And it would have to be one hell of a movie to make at least me forget about ALIEN3... RESURRECTION, not so much...😁👍🏻

[OmegaZilla]

Look on my box office, ye execs, and despair

[zoidy]

My amusement levels are off the scale 

[Xenomorphine]

While you're at it, you might like to face the fact that Blomkamp's proposal is history.

Its status is whatever Fox wants it to be. They're free to dismiss or resurrect it, as they see fit.

There's nothing more pitiful than fan boys being 'cock teased' by a 70 year old woman

I find this analogy a tad distasteful...

[Rankles75]

I personally would rather see the return of Ripley for one last go and just have Fox greenlight Blomkamp's "ALIEN V" story/pitch. I'd almost guarantee you it would smoke Alien: Covenant at the box office. Ridley has lost his way and is now acting like a spoiled child who is taking his ball and not only going home with it, he's filling it with holes. He's the one who stopped Neil's movie, he pretty much admitted it. Meanwhile, he's destroying what little is left of his ALIEN legacy on the big screen with sequels that are poorly written, explained and simply don't fit into the ALIEN verse imho. Don't know about anyone else but ALIEN and ALIENS are still the only two xeno films I personally view as canon. Prometheus and A:C are as bad as Alien 3 and Resurrection; ie: two sequels that weren't needed when it seemed like fans were hyped for Neil's film. Ridley used that hype for his own gain and screwed Blomkamp up the bum. If there *are* anymore ALIEN movies, the only one I will see is the one directed by Neil Blomkamp closing out the Ripley storyline proper. 

Ripley's story was already 'closed out proper' at the end of 'ALIEN 3'.    Deal with it, already.

'ALIEN 3', 'PROMETHEUS' and 'ALIEN: Covenant' are all good movies.  You might like to deal with that, too.

While you're at it, you might like to face the fact that Blomkamp's proposal is history.  In all honesty, it should never have gotten any publicity at all.  It's done no one any good - especially the minute Weaver was publicly associated with it.  There's nothing more pitiful than fan boys being 'cock teased' by a 70 year old woman

The proposal is gone, thrown under the bus, tossed into the furnace and cooked with an apple in it's mouth.  It's history. 

Embrace the New Canon, I say.  ...or forever live in 1986 with false hopes and broken dreams of whoring out the old woman just one more time...

-Windebieste.

Your antagonistic dick act is growing old. If people don't want to accept a train wreck of a movie, and instead hold out hope for one that they feel does justice to the series, they have every right to do so. If you think Alien 3 and Prometheus are good movies, that's your right too (although that is an opinion, not a "fact" that we have to "deal with").

It's a shame that Covenant is struggling at the box office, as I think it's a much better film than Prometheus, but it's not really surprising. Bringing it out between Guardians and Pirates wasn't ideal timing, and I think Ridley overrated how much interest there would be in prequels to the Alien series, that answered questions few were really asking. If Blomkamp's film did come out, I'm convinced it would fare a lot better than Covenant has.

[Kane's other son]

Yeah, I really think that a movie about a senior citizen Ripley and Michael Biehn being kept in suspended animation for 30 years and having nightmares about Alien 3 and Resurrection will do gangbuster business.

I can't wait for marines with newer versions of pulse rifles fighting the queen. Or for Ripley to wear the alien camouflage suit inspired by a Kenner action figure. Yes, that's what this franchise was missing.