Critics dismissed it, and Hollywood insiders underestimated it, but the fans have spoken, and Friday night audiences made Alien vs. Predator the #1 film, with a North American box-office take of $16.7 million, leaving The Princess Diaries 2 eating dust in a distant second place showing.
If the numbers hold, Alien vs. Predator will pull in $47-50 million dollars in its opening weekend, and in the process dwarf most insiders expectations. It will also represent nearly twice as much box office as Alien:Resurrection earned over the 1997 Thanksgiving Holiday.