Cailee Spaeny in “Alien: Romulus.”
Alien: Romulus—the seventh movie in the Alien movie saga—is new in theaters. When will it be available to stream at home?
Directed by Fede Alvarez, Alien: Romulus arrives 45 years after the release of director Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror movie classic Alien, starring Sigourney Weaver. She reprised her iconic role of Lt. Ellen Ripley three more times after Alien, for Aliens in 1986, Alien 3 in 1992 and Alien: Resurrection in 1997.
Scott, who left the saga after directing the first Alien, returned for the franchise’s first prequel, Prometheus, in 2012 and directed its follow-up Alien: Covenant in 2017.
Alien: Romulus brings the action back to the earlier days of the franchise as the story is set between the events of Alien and its first sequel Aliens, which was directed by James Cameron.
Alien: Romulus follows the harrowing plight of a group of young adult renegades, who, desperate to escape the dreary confines of their mining colony, fly a ship to an abandoned space outpost in search of cryo pods that they will need for a nine-year trip to a new destination.
While onboard the outpost, though, the group members—played by Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu—inadvertently awaken a large volume of Facehugger Xenomorphs, which put each of their lives in grave danger.
Alien: Romulus plays in previews Thursday evening before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday. The only way you can see the movie now is in theaters, so check your local listings.
When Alien: Romulus maps its destination for the home entertainment market, its first stop will be on digital streaming via premium video on demand. PVOD titles are generally available for anywhere from $24.99 to $29.99 to purchase and $19.99 to $24.99 to rent for a 48-hour period once you start watching the film.
PVOD titles can either be purchased or rented on such digital platforms as Prime Video, AppleTV+ and VUDU.
Alien: Romulus is being released by 20th Century Studios, which is a subsidiary of Disney. As such, 20th Century Studios titles follow a PVOD release pattern similar to Disney, which is 60 days. For example, 20th Century Studios’ summer hit Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was released on May 10 theatrically and debuted on PVOD on July 9.
If Alien: Romulus follows the release pattern, you can expect to either purchase the film or rent the film on PVOD either on October 15 or October 18, since new PVOD titles are released on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Where Will ‘Alien: Romulus’ Premiere On Streaming Video On Demand?
Disney owns two streaming services. Disney+ houses family-friendly fare and generally the titles on the streaming service are rated G
Gravity
Disney’s other streaming service, Hulu, is the destination for most of 20th Century Studios releases no matter the rating. Even though Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was rated PG-13, its first stop for streaming video on demand was Hulu.
Since Alien: Romulus is a 20th Century Studios production, its first subscription streaming service destination will be Hulu. Typically it takes about 90 days from the time 20th Century Studios films debut in theaters to premiere on Hulu.
If Alien: Romulus follows that same release pattern, then you can expect the film to debut on Hulu around November 15.
It is possible that the film could debut a bit earlier than 90 days. For example, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opened in theaters on May 10 and began streaming on Hulu on August 2.
The 20th Century Studios horror thriller The First Omen debuted even quicker on Hulu. The First Omen opened in theaters on April 5 before it started streaming on Hulu less than 60 days later, on May 30.
Alien: Romulus plays in previews Thursday night before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
