Aliens (1986)
96%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Won 2 Oscars
20 wins & 23 nominations total
While Alien was a marvel of slow-building, atmospheric tension, Aliens packs a much more visceral punch, and features a typically strong performance from Sigourney Weaver.
If you thought Alien was a slow burn, then Aliens is like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. It’s got all the action and excitement you could want, plus Sigourney Weaver is once again kicking butt and taking names. This movie is like a rollercoaster ride through space, with plenty of thrills and chills along the way. If you’re a fan of sci-fi and action, then Aliens is definitely worth checking out. Just make sure you buckle up and hold on tight!
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox, Brandywine Productions, Pinewood Studios,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Acton Lane Power Station, Acton Lane, Acton, London, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for monster violence, and for language
Year of Release
1986
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 17m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 18, 1986 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 1, 1999
Genre(s)
Horror/Action
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $131,060,248
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $363,127,088
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 420
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 39,599,464
US/Canada gross: $85,160,248
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $235,952,497
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 281
US/Canada opening weekend: $10,052,042
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $27,851,075
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 499
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $51,257,732
Production budget ranking: 777
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $27,602,289
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $284,267,066
ROI to date (est.): 360%
ROI ranking: 383
Sigourney Weaver – Lt. Ellen Ripley
Carrie Henn – Rebecca “Newt” Jorden
Michael Biehn – Corporal Dwayne Hicks
Paul Reiser – Carter J. Burke
Lance Henriksen – Science Officer L. Bishop
Bill Paxton – Private W. Hudson
Show all Cast & Crew
Director(s)
James Cameron
Writer(s)
James Cameron, David Giler
Producer(s)
Gale Anne Hurd
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
20 wins & 23 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Editing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (79) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (2)
Sigourney Weaver is merely terrific… When she straps on her armament to do battle with the aliens, she makes Sylvester Stallone look like a pipsqueak.
March 15, 2019
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
Beyond dispute, however, is the film’s timeless worth as a cathartic work, especially in terms of its accidentally commentary on the sexism of the corporate structure.
October 4, 2018
Melanie McFarland
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
The whole finale is white-knuckled, some of the best aciton and suspense film-making I’ve ever seen.
May 12, 2018 | Rating: A+
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
Scene to scene, encounter to encounter, its tension builds unrelentingly. So, fasten your seat belts. It`s a blast.
October 14, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
Rick Kogan
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
[Aliens] is a spectacular example of state-of-the-art science fiction simply because it never tries to be overtly spectacular.
July 30, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
It’s blaster action, not Gothic future-horror. Fortunately, director-screenwriter James Cameron has shaped his film around the defiant intelligence and sensual athleticism of Weaver, and that’s where Aliens works best.
July 30, 2013
Sheila Benson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
It is in its simplest form a fight between two mothers over their children to me, given the genre and the time in which the film was made thats rather remarkable.
March 12, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
Grant Watson
Fiction Machine
If more filmmakers took Cameron’s approach to sequel-making, Hollywood’s franchises might not seem so dull and homogenized today.
March 2, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Around 100 minutes of some of the finest tension building and breathless action ever committed to celluloid.
October 13, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
Just when you think the movie is over, Cameron comes back with another piece of action more daring than the last. While Aliens has more than its share of special effects, the heart of the film’s success is its intense, unrelenting and spectacular action.
August 16, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Tony Mastroianni
Akron Beacon Journal
Perhaps the greatest exemplar of science-fiction, action, and horror faultlessly blended together into one film.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
An often astonishingly engaging and entertaining sequel…
July 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews…
Plot
57 years after Ellen Ripley had a close encounter with the reptilian alien creature from the first movie, she is called back, this time, to help a group of highly trained colonial marines fight off against the sinister extraterrestrials. But this time, the aliens have taken over a space colony on the moon LV-426. When the colonial marines are called upon to search the deserted space colony, they later find out that they are up against more than what they bargained for. Using specially modified machine guns and enough firepower, it’s either fight or die as the space marines battle against the aliens. As the Marines do their best to defend themselves, Ripley must attempt to protect a young girl who is the sole survivor of the nearly wiped out space colony.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
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