Deadpool and Wolverine Dominate Box Office Again as Alien: Romulus Sees Big Drop in Second Weekend

The end of August isn’t traditionally a great time for moviegoing. Between families gearing up for the new school year and people heading off on last-minute summer vacations, there’s not a lot of attention paid to the new titles Hollywood is bringing to the big screen. That’s reflected in this weekend’s box office results, which see Shawn Levy’s Deadpool and Wolverine Return to first place in the Top 10 despite disappointing results for Fede Álvarez Alien: RomulusZoe Kravitz’s thriller Blink twice and Rupert Sanders’ remake The Raven.

Check out the full Top 10 below and join me after for some analysis:

Tickets for the weekend of August 23-25, 2024 Deadpool & Wolverine — (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

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TITLE	RAW WEEKEND	DOMESTIC GROSS	LW	THTRS
1. Deadpool and Wolverine	$18,300,000	$577,203,366	2	3,840
2. Alien: Romulus	$16,200,000	$72,639,383	1	3,915
3. It ends with us	$11,850,000	$120,824,000	3	3,839
4. Blink twice*	$7,323,661	$7,323,661	N / A	3,067
5. The Forge*	$6,600,000	$6,600,000	N / A	1,818
6. Tornadoes	$6,200,000	$248,670,000	4	3,206
7. Coraline	$5,006,175	$106,917,857	5	1,422
8. The Raven*	$4,600,000	$4,600,000	N / A	2,752
9. Despicable Me 4	$4,400,000	$348,280,000	6	2,591
10. Inside Out 2	$2,100,000	$646,311,114	8	1,560

Deadpool and Wolverine Return to Top of Domestic Top 10 Despite Unfortunate Weekend Drop for Alien: Romulus

Having earned $577.2 million in the United States and $1.211 billion worldwide, Deadpool and Wolverine was one of the biggest hits of summer 2024, so it makes perfect sense that it will likely close out the blockbuster season as the No. 1 film in the U.S. and Canada. As I noted in my column last week, it was bumped from the spot after winning three consecutive box office crowns with the much-hyped arrival of Alien: Romulusbut this turned out to be a temporary situation.

Because Deadpool and Wolverine has already earned the title of “Biggest R-Rated Movie of All Time,” the big box office milestones it has ahead of it concern its place among the Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, and it is already firmly one of the franchise’s biggest titles to date. Having earned more than Joe and Anthony Russo’s films Captain America: Civil War ($1.152 billion) and Jon Watts Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.133 billion), it is currently the eighth highest-grossing MCU film of all time, and will soon surpass Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 ($1.215 billion). And this, despite the alleged “handicap” of a restricted rating.

We won’t be getting another title from the canon this year, but it sets the bar pretty high for the next four Marvel films that are set to arrive in 2025: Julius Onah Captain America: Brave New WorldJake Schreier Love at first sightMatt Shakman Fantastic Four: First StepsAnd Blade with Mahershala Ali.

Although it was undoubtedly a huge box office success, Deadpool and Wolverine will probably not have a particular feather in its cap, namely “Biggest Movie of 2024.” That particular superlative still belongs to Kelsey Mann Inside Out 2 (which, as you’ll notice, is probably spending its final weeks in the domestic Top 10). Pixar’s blockbuster has a commanding lead in the global box office numbers, having grossed $1.649 billion to date.

Deadpool with Dogpool in Deadpool & Wolverine

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Unfortunately, the reason why Deadpool and Wolverine was able to retake the top spot at the box office because Alien: Romulus The second weekend wasn’t very good. The new sci-fi horror film did well in its debut, with final results seeing it earn $42 million in its first Friday through Sunday (the thirteenth-biggest opening of the year), and it received strong pre-release buzz from critics, but that’s not currently translating into lasting success in the final weeks of summer.

Alien: Romulus has grossed $16.2 million over its last three days in the US and Canada, which represents a 61% drop from one weekend to the next (for those who don’t regularly follow box office statistics, the general expectation is that this number is in the low 50s). This slowdown will likely dampen hopes that the film will ultimately rank as the biggest movie at the box office. Stranger national franchise (Ridley Scott’s Prometheus holds that title, having earned $126.5 million in 2012).

The positive is that the film is doing well overseas and has so far grossed $152.8 million in foreign markets. That brings the global box office total to $225.4 million, just $13 million less than Ridley Scott’s film. Alien: Covenant earned during its theatrical release in 2017. Once again, however, it appears to be exceeding Prometheus It’s a risky bet, since the film grossed $402.4 million before its big-screen run ended.

Neither Blink Twice nor The Crow manage to make a significant impact on the Top 10 as two new titles in wide release.

Comparing this weekend’s Top 10 rankings to last weekend’s, you’ll notice that the top three titles have changed their order, but they’re the same three titles. Deadpool and Wolverine And Alien: Romulus have changed places, and Justin Baldoni It ends with us retained third place (note: the drama joined the 2024 Nine Figure Club, having grossed $120.8 million in the U.S. so far). This slight shuffle is a result of the two most recent titles that released widely (i.e. in over 2,000 theaters) failing to make much of a splash.

Zoe Kravitz’s first film with Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum, Blink twice The film received mostly positive reviews before its theatrical release Friday, but that buzz and promises of a surprise ending didn’t translate directly into big sales. The film earned $7.3 million this weekend, which was just enough to beat Alex Kendrick’s faith-based drama The Forgewhich grossed $6.6 million playing in 1,818 theaters.

It’s not great, but the remake of The Raven The film has fared much worse. As I noted in my CinemaBlend review of the dark action flick, it’s a project that spent over a decade in development, but it ultimately received very limited marketing support and was panned by critics. The Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs-starring film only managed to make $4.6 million in its final three days, which wasn’t enough to top Henry Selick’s Coraline (an anniversary release airing for its second weekend) in the Top 10 of the ranking.

As for next week, it looks like August is going to end on a mixed note, but I’ll be back next Sunday to report on the box office results. In the meantime, you can get a look at all the movies set to hit theaters this fall with our 2024 movie release schedule.