'Alien: Covenant' edges 'Guardians' at weekend box office

Covenant' edges 'Guardians' at weekend box office

Covenant edged out Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 in a weekend space battle at the box office.

Ridley Scott's latest "Alien" exploit opened with $36 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Covenant is a dark, R-rated scare-fest about slimy, parasitic space monsters; Disney's Guardians is a sweet, family-centered romp across the cosmos.

Warner Bros.' teen romance Everything, Everything debuted in third place with $12 million, and Fox's Diary of a Wimpy Kid:

"Snatched," Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn's R-rated comedy from Fox, fell to fourth place in its second week of release with $7.6 million.

"Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2" provided a solid launch to the summer movie season with more than $300 million in domestic ticket sales so far, Dergarabedian said, though overall grosses are running about 10 percent behind last summer's totals.

Marvel movies kick off the month, which ends with Memorial Day tent poles like next weekend's Baywatch and Pirates of the Caribbean:

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.