It’s funny how a few months of box office results can change one’s perspective. After back-to-back flops in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Garfield , many assumed Hollywood was dead and buried. Now, the summer of 2024 is looking pretty lucrative, especially for Disney, which just scored its third consecutive hit with Alien: Romulus .

Fede Álvarez’s sci-fi horror sequel/prequel dethroned Deadpool & Wolverine atop the domestic and worldwide box office after earning $41.5 million in North America and $108.2 million worldwide — a huge win for a film originally slated for a Hulu release. Early tracking suggested a global opening of $75 million, but thanks to a stellar marketing campaign, the ninth film in the long-running franchise exceeded expectations and will likely earn the Mouse House a tidy sum to go along with D&W ($545.8 million/$1.093 billion) and Inside Out 2 ($642.1 million/$1.625 billion).

The film’s $42M is the second-best opening for an Alien film (unadjusted for inflation) after Prometheus ($51M) and just a notch above AVP: Alien Vs. Predator ($38.3M), proving that there’s still life left in Ridley Scott’s formidable saga. Audiences have given the film a B+ CinemaScore and a healthy 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. Given the dearth of options over the next three weeks, Romulus should have a decent box office run and (hopefully) spawn future sequels.

According to the industry, PLF and Imax accounted for 52% of sales.