Early estimates are in and they’re brutal.
Not since the Friday the 13th remake can I recall a drop like this as Twentieth Century Fox’s Alien: Covenant was burned by Baywatch and sunk by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. In fact, the Friday estimates were so bad that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 beat out Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel.
As I reported opening weekend, while posting numbers a drop lower than Prometheus, there wasn’t much to worry about especially since the budget was reported around $30 million less this go around.
But this is BAD.
Covenant made an estimated $3 million on Friday, making it a whopping 80% drop from the $15 million the week prior. As Forbes notes, this puts it on track to be one of the ten biggest second-week drops of all time.
Were the negative reviews or crowded early summer box office to blame? Whatever the case, this is a holiday weekend when a newly released film should be thriving. Instead, Covenant is floundering, being absolutely punished by other summer blockbusters. But what hurts the most is that Covenant is the only horror films out there, although the resurgence of R-rated comedies (Baywatch) may have something to do with this.
We’ll report back after the weekend comes to a close with better estimates, but this isn’t looking good, especially if the international numbers take a hit as well.
