Weekend box office: Alien Covenant dethrones Guardians of the Galaxy

Brad Sturdivant May 21st, 2017

I’m convinced that there won’t be another great Aliens movie in my lifetime. When Ridley Scott returned to the franchise with PROMETHEUS, I thought that would be the one, but it didn’t quite get there. His second outing, ALIEN: COVENANT (click the link to read our review), may have taken the top spot at the weekend box office, but it’s still not the Alien movie fans of the franchise have been waiting for. However, it does look like it will beat out ALIEN VS. PREDATOR for second highest opening in the Alien or Alien-related franchise (depends on whether or not you consider Alien vs Predator films part of the “Alien franchise”). PROMETHEUS still stands in front with an opening just over $50 million.

Next week should tell us a lot about American audiences. First, we’ll learn whether or not audiences still love Jack Sparrow as Johnny Depp returns in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. I think the best thing about the film might be the return of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, yet I feel like they’ve been hidden from most of the marketing campaign. Next, we have the big screen adaptation of BAYWATCH, starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. If The Rock can open BAYWATCH, then the next studio thinking about signing him to a movie should just give him a blank check. It’s hard to predict who will win next week because one film is a proven franchise and the other film has a proven box office star, but I’m giving the edge to Pirates of the Caribbean. I don’t think the film will do crazy numbers or even as well as the previous films, but I do think it will be enough to slip past BAYWATCH. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.

1. Alien: Covenant $39.5m

2. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 $33.6m

3. Everything, Everything $11.7m

4. Snatched $7.5m

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul $7.1m

6. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword $6.3m

7. Beauty and the Beast $3.1m

8. The Fate of the Furious $3m

9. The Boss Baby $2.8m

10. How to be a Latin Lover $1.8m

(Deadline)