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Despite being made at a modest budget of $80 million, the recently released sci-fi horror filmAlien: Romulusseemed to have impressed many fans and critics alike. The Fede Álvarez-directorial is a standalone story in theAliensfranchise and stars Cailee Spaeny in the lead role.
The box office and critical success of low-budget genre films such asAlien: Romulus, The Creator, Godzilla Minus One, and more have led fans to question why big-budget superhero films have been failing at the box office. On the other hand, films likeThe Marvels, The Flash,and more have been given ridiculous budgets without any redeeming factor.
Alien: RomulusHits Big At The Box Office Despite A Modest Budget
Every year, one film among the big-budget blockbusters proves that less money does not necessarily mean a lesser movie. Last year, the Japanese kaiju filmGodzilla Minus Onecame out of nowhere and took the world by storm with its amazing storytelling and Academy Award-winning VFX.
“I’ll direct a half, and…”: Alien: Romulus Director Following Into Quentin Tarantino’s Footsteps in an ‘Alien vs. Predator’ Film Could Take the Franchise to MCU Level Glory
This year, the surprise hit has beenAlien: Romulus, which was released earlier this week. According toDeadline, the sci-fi horror film is projected to earn more than $42 million on opening weekend. Facing stiff competition fromDeadpool & WolverineandIt Ends With Us, the relatively modest budget film seems to have a victory.
TheFede Álvarez-directorial has also received positive reviews from critics and fans alike, with many calling it the best film in the franchise since James Cameron’sAliens. Many appreciated the film’s return to its horror roots and the lead performance by Cailee Spaeny. The film would be a straight third hit for Disney afterDeadpool 3andInside Out.
Alien: Romuluswas announced after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019, with multiple films in the franchise set to be developed (viaTHR). Initially planned for a Hulu release, Disney moved it to a theatrical release shortly before filming began. And, the gamble seems to have paid off.
Fans Question Big Superhero Films After The Success OfAlien: Romulus,Godzilla Minus OneandPrey
Good filmmaking always triumphs despite budget constraints. The success of recent films such asGodzilla Minus One, which reportedlyhad a $15 million budget, andPrey, which cost $65 million, proves that a unifying creative vision can deliver a good film despite less money being put in (viaThe Numbers).
“I was playing, and realizing how terrifying Alien could be if…”: Fede Alvarez Admits Being Inspired by the Most Terrifying Video Game in Years for Alien: Romulus
ThoughAlien: Romulushad an $80 million budget, it is still less compared to the budgets some Marvel andStar WarsIPs pull in. Fans have questioned the legitimacy of such high budgets when the films and shows have not delivered in terms of storytelling.The Marvels, which reportedly had a $270 million budget was a box office bomb (viaForbes).
The Creator’s budget: $80 millionAlien Romulus’ budget: $80 millionPrey’s budget: $65 millionGodzilla Minus One’s budget: $15 millionYou don’t need $1 billion to make blockbusters. Just talented filmmakers.pic.twitter.com/ttxoRbGf3E
smaller budget films, especially horror, do big numbers, i think the vast majority of high earnings films before the early 2000s, were made for budgets of less than $100 million, talented directors can economically do a lot with proper planning and good production
This is why I’m convinced Disney could very well be a money laundering operation at this point when you consider the fact that some Marvel and SW shows have budgets equal to those of small countries but the quality is, ah, well
not paying actors 20+million dollars helps a lot
So true. Alien Romulus was absolutely terrific. I didn’t want the movie to end.
Other films likeThe FlashandAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniahave also failed spectacularly at the box office, despite designing them with tried and tested tropes such as cameos and multiversal stories.
Alien: Romulusis available in cinemas as of August 18.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
