Alien: Romulus has skyrocketed to become Hollywood’s second biggest film of the year at the China box office, following a strong second weekend that solidified its success. The sci-fi thriller pulled in an impressive RMB140 million ($19.7 million) between Friday and Sunday, building on its $26.2 million opening weekend. This brings its total earnings to a staggering RMB523 million ($73.7 million) since its August 16 release.
The film now stands as one of the top Hollywood imports in China for 2024, second only to the Chinese-backed Godzilla vs. Kong, which amassed $134 million. In just under two weeks, Alien: Romulus has surged past other Hollywood franchise heavyweights, leaving Kung Fu Panda 4 ($52 million), Despicable Me 4 ($56 million), Dune 2 ($49.7 million), and Inside Out 2 ($48 million) in its wake.
IMAX reported that Alien: Romulus contributed $2.75 million to its screens over the weekend, with a total of $11.6 million from IMAX showings alone—accounting for approximately 16% of the film’s overall earnings in China.
In second place, the Gu Changwei-directed drama The Hedgehog made a strong debut with RMB74.4 million ($105 million). The film, featuring popular stars Ge You and Karry Wang from the TFBoys, tells a poignant story of friendship between a rebellious teenager and his mentally handicapped uncle.
Following closely behind, the Chinese crime drama Untouchable, directed by Wang Daqing and starring Shen Teng, Zhang Yuqi, and Jack Kao, earned RMB73.4 million ($10.3 million).
In its second weekend, the Chinese crime action film Go for Broke brought in $7.1 million, raising its 10-day total to $33.4 million. Meanwhile, Japanese animation Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram added $4.8 million, reaching a cumulative $29.2 million after 10 days.
The Thai comedy-drama How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies opened outside the top five, with an estimated $4.4 million in its first three days.
Overall, China’s nationwide box office total for the weekend reached $70.8 million, pushing the year-to-date total to $4.62 billion—still more than 21% below the 2023 equivalent.
Alien: Romulus continues to dominate, proving that Hollywood’s alien saga has found a formidable audience in the world’s largest movie market.
