"It was the most incredible preview I've ever been in. I mean, people were screaming and running out of the theater."[74]
—Editor Terry Rawlings describing the film's screening in Dallas.
An initial screening of Alien for 20th Century-Fox representatives in St. Louis was marred by poor sound. A subsequent screening in a newer theater in Dallas went significantly better, eliciting genuine fright from the audience.[74] Two theatrical trailers were shown to the public. The first consisted of rapidly changing still images set to some of Jerry Goldsmith's electronic music from Logan's Run, with the tagline in both the trailer and on the teaser poster "A word of warning...". The second used test footage of a hen's egg set to part of Goldsmith's Alien score.[58] The film was previewed in various American cities in the spring of 1979[58] and was promoted with the tagline "In space, no one can hear you scream."[74][89]
Alien was rated "R" in the United States, "X" in the United Kingdom, and "M" in Australia.[47] In the UK, the British Board of Film Censors almost passed the film as an "AA" (for ages 14 and over), although concerns existed over the prevalent sexual imagery. 20th Century-Fox eventually relented in pushing for an AA certificate after deciding that an X rating would make it easier to sell as a horror film.[90]
Alien opened in a limited release in American theaters on May 25, 1979.[89][91] The film had no formal premiere, yet moviegoers lined up for blocks to see it at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, where a number of models, sets, and props were displayed outside to promote it during its first run.[58][74] It received a wide release in the United States on June 22.[92] Vandals set fire to the model of the space jockey, believing it to be the work of the devil.[58] The film started its international release in Japan on July 20 and then Brazil on August 20.[93] In the United Kingdom, Alien premiered at a gala performance at the Edinburgh Film Festival on September 1, 1979,[94][95] before starting an exclusive run at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on Thursday, September 6, 1979,[96] for one week before expanding slowly until opening wide in Britain in 180 theaters on October 1, 1979.[93] The film opened in France and Spain in September before expanding to other markets in October 1979.[93]
Box office
The film was a commercial success, opening in 90 theatres across the United States (plus 1 in Canada), setting 51 house records and grossing $3,527,881 over the four-day Memorial Day weekend with a per-screen average of $38,767,[5] which Daily Variety suggested may have been the biggest per-screen opening in history.[97] In its first 4 weeks it grossed $16.5 million from only 148 prints before expanding to 635 screens.[5] In the UK, the film grossed $126,150 in its first 4 days at the Odeon Leicester Square, setting a house record.[98] By the beginning of October 1979, the film had grossed $27 million internationally including $16.9 million in Japan, $4.8 million in France and $3.7 million in the UK.[93] It went on to gross $78.9 million in the United States and £7,886,000 in the United Kingdom during its first run.[58] Including reissues, it has grossed $81.8 million in the United States and Canada, while international box-office figures have varied from $24 million to $122.7 million. Its total worldwide gross has been listed within the range of $104.9 million[5] to $203.6 million.[6] In 1992, Fox noted the worldwide gross was $143 million.[99]
Despite this apparent box-office success, 20th Century Fox claimed that in the 11 months since its release, Alien had lost the studio $2 million. Seen as an example of Hollywood creative accounting used by Fox to disguise the film revenue and limit any payments to Brandywine, the claim was decried by industry accountants, and by August 1980, Fox readjusted the figure to $4 million profit, although this was similarly refuted. Eager to begin work on a sequel, Brandywine sued Fox over their profit distribution tactics, but Fox claimed that Alien was not a financial success and did not warrant a sequel. The lawsuit was settled in 1983 when Fox agreed to fund an Alien II.[100]
Critical reception
Critical reaction to the film was initially mixed. Some critics who were not usually favorable towards science fiction, such as Barry Norman of the BBC's Film series, were positive about the film's merits.[58] Others, however, were not; reviews by Variety, Sight and Sound, Vincent Canby, and Leonard Maltin[b] were mixed or negative.[102] A review by Time Out said the film was an "empty bag of tricks whose production values and expensive trickery cannot disguise imaginative poverty".[103] In their original review on Sneak Previews, critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film "two 'yes' votes." Ebert called it "one of the scariest old-fashioned space operas I can remember." Siskel agreed that it was scary but said it was basically a "haunted house film" set "in a spaceship" and was "not the greatest science fiction film ever made."[104] Siskel gave the film three stars out of four in his original print review, calling it "an accomplished piece of scary entertainment" and praising Sigourney Weaver as "an actress who should become a major star," but listed among the film's disappointments that "[f]or me, the final shape of the alien was the least scary of its forms."[105]
Accolades
Alien won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was also nominated for Best Art Direction (for Michael Seymour, Leslie Dilley, Roger Christian, and Ian Whittaker).[106][107] It won Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction for Ridley Scott, and Best Supporting Actress for Veronica Cartwright,[20] and was also nominated in the categories of Best Actress for Sigourney Weaver, Best Make-up for Pat Hay, Best Special Effects for Brian Johnson and Nick Allder, and Best Writing for Dan O'Bannon.[108] It was also nominated for British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for Best Costume Design for John Mollo, Best Editing for Terry Rawlings, Best Supporting Actor for John Hurt, and Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Role for Sigourney Weaver.[65] It also won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and was nominated for a British Society of Cinematographers award for Best Cinematography for Derek Vanlint, as well as a Silver Seashell award for Best Cinematography and Special Effects at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.[109][110] Jerry Goldsmith's score received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album, and won a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.[63][64][65]
