‘Alien’ Will Be Returning to Theaters for Its 40th Anniversary

The 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien will be returning to theaters in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Fathom Events has announced that it will showing the iconic film in theaters around the country for three nights on Oct. 13, 15, and 16. In a description of the event, Fathom said, “Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Alien! Directed by Ridley Scott, the original sci-fi classic follows Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) investigating a suspected SOS on a remote planet and makes a terrifying discovery.”

Alien opened in wide-release in the United States on June 22, but first debuted in a limited capacity on May 25. Its budget is estimated at around $11 million, with a box office revenue of upwards to $200 million.

In addition to Weaver, the film also starred Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto.

Alien was written by Dan O’Bannon (Total Recall) and directed by Ridley Scott, who at the time had only directed one other feature film.

Scott would go on to be one of the most well-respected directors in cinema, helming films such as Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, American Gangster, and The Martian.

Alien spawned a handful of sequels, with 1986’s Aliens being written and directed by James Cameron. The film was made on a budget of about $18 million and earned up to $181 million at the box office. Cameron would later go on to make movies like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Titanic, and Avatar.

In 1992, Alien 3 was released, but received more mixed reviews than it’s predecessors, and its box office return was not quite as high of a ratio as Alien and Aliens. The David Fincher-directed film has since go on to be somewhat of a cult classic. Fincher would also go on to be a high profile director, bringing to life films such as Seven, Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Social Network.

The fourth Alien film, Alien Resurrection, opened on Nov. 26, 1997, and was written by Joss Wheadon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers). The movie was directed by French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

In the 2000s, the xenomorphs returned in two crossover films with the Predator franchise: Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).

Finally, in 2012, Scoot came back to the Alien world with Prometheus, which told an origin story for the face-huggers. That film was followed up by 2017s Alien: Covenant. There are currently no concrete plans for the Alien franchise, but it has been reported that another prequel is “in the script phase,” with Scott said to be attached to direct.