It's only Saturday, but it's looking extremely likely that 20th Century Fox's Alien: Covenant will win the weekend with an estimated $38-$40.2 million to kick off its domestic run.
The long-awaited Ridley Scott-directed Prometheus follow-up raked $4.2 million from Thursday night preview showings and then collected another $15.35 million on Friday. Internationally, Covenant has already brought in nearly $47 million from 34 foreign markets starting last weekend, which brings its current worldwide sum to $62 million. It opens in 54 more foreign markets this weekend, so it should be crossing the $100 million mark worldwide by Monday morning, if not sooner, which is certainly not a bad start for the film that reportedly cost $97 million to make.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 shifts to second place as it pulls in another $33-35 million in its third frame, bringing its domestic cume to just around $300 million. Its worldwide total currently stands at $659.4 million, but it's swiftly approaching $700 million.
As for the rest of the pack, Warner Bros.' King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fell from third to sixth, further cementing its status as the year's first big-budget box office bomb. However, as unfortunate as that may be, the studio undoubtedly has brighter days ahead with Wonder Woman just around the corner.
Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.
Alien: Covenant features:
Director: Ridley Scott
Katherine Waterston as Daniels
Michael Fassbender as Walter/David
Billy Crudup as Christopher Oram
Danny McBride as Tennessee
Demián Bichir as Sergeant Lope
Carmen Ejogo as Karine
Jussie Smollett as Ricks
Amy Seimetz as Faris
Callie Hernandez as Ricks' partner
Nathaniel Dean as Sergeant Hallett
Alexander England in an undisclosed role
Benjamin Rigby in an undisclosed role
Uli Latukefu in an undisclosed role
Matt Scaletti in an undisclosed role
Noomi Rapace as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw
Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland
James Franco as Jacob Branson
Alien: Covenant bursts into theaters May 19