While Alien: Romulus has all the right ingredients to become a big box office success, the recent struggles of Hollywood horror franchises put even more pressure on the standalone sequel. The upcoming 2024 movie Alien: Romulus will see the Alien franchise return to the big screen for the first time since 2017’s Alien: Covenant. Director Fede Alvarez helms this new take on the franchise mythos, with Romulus reportedly being set between Alien and Aliens. Although original Alien director Ridley Scott gave the movie his seal of approval after a test screening, Alien: Romulus will not continue the prequel storyline started by Scott’s movies Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
As Alien: Romulus’s release date approaches, it has become increasingly clear that the movie’s performance won’t just impact the Alien series. Alvarez has a mixed history with major Hollywood horror franchises, as his 2013 Evil Dead reboot was a hit with viewers and reviewers alike but the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot that he produced was critically abhorred. However, Alien: Romulus is arriving at a time when horror franchises are in freefall after a few years of staggering success, and the sequel’s performance could affect how much Hollywood is willing to bet on the genre going forward.
Alien: Romulus Needs To Succeed – As Several Horror Franchises Are Struggling
The years 2022 and 2023 were huge for horror, with low-budget indies like Terrifier 2 and Skinamarink exceeding expectations while bigger releases such as Insidious: The Red Door and M3GAN were massive hits. However, the genre’s major franchises are in turmoil since Exorcist: Believer disappointed critically, Scream 7’s future is unclear, and the new Halloween trilogy has come to a close. While The Crow, The Strangers, and Faces of Death have 2024 reboots en route (and there’s a Friday the 13th TV show in the works), Alien: Romulus is easily the biggest Hollywood horror prospect at the coming year’s box office.
This means that a lot will be riding on the performance of Alien: Romulus, especially after recent years saw horror perform exceedingly well at the box office. Evil Dead Rise was a big box office success, but flops like Renfield and Beau Is Afraid prove that the genre isn’t a bulletproof hitmaker. Thus, Alien: Romulus’s critical and commercial performance may tell Hollywood studios whether theatrically released reboots of major franchises are worthwhile investments. The fact that Alien: Romulus isn’t continuing Alien: Covenant’s story should be a boon in this regard, but the fate of numerous potential franchise reboots could still ride on the sequel’s performance.
The Alien Franchise’s Box Office History Bodes (Relatively) Well For Alien: Romulus
The 1979 original Alien movie made over $180 million on an estimated budget of $11 million, while 2012’s Prometheus made a staggering $403 million. However, Alien: Covenant underperformed in 2017, so Alien: Romulus isn’t guaranteed to succeed. That said, Alien: Covenant had a stable budget of around $100 million before marketing costs, a strategy that Alien: Romulus is unlikely to repeat. Originally intended to go straight to streaming on Hulu, Alvarez’s reboot is likely to be a more modest proposition than Scott’s ambitious prequels, possibly more akin to 2022’s Predator prequel, Prey. This could be a good thing, since a lean, mean return to the horror franchise’s glory days could make Alien: Romulus the success story Hollywood needs.
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
- Release Date
- August 16, 2024
- Director
- Fede Alvarez
- Cast
- Cailee Spaeny , David Jonsson , Archie Renaux , Isabela Merced , Aileen Wu , Spike Fearn
- Franchise(s)
- Alien
