Aliens (film)

Director James Cameron in 2016. Cameron was hired to write a treatment for Aliens based on his work in The Terminator.

After the critical and commercial success of Alien (1979), Brandywine Productions was eager to make a sequel; however, it took seven years for the sequel to be completed.[19][20] 20th Century Fox president Alan Ladd Jr., who had been supportive of Alien, also supported the proposed Alien II. Before the project could progress, however, Ladd left Fox in 1979 to found The Ladd Company production studio and was replaced by Norman Levy.[19][20] According to Brandywine co-founder David Giler, Levy thought the sequel would be a "disaster". Levy disputed this account, saying that he wanted to make Alien II but was concerned about production costs.[21] The studio thought that Alien's success was a fluke; it was not profitable enough to warrant a follow-up, and audiences would not return for a sequel.[21] Box-office returns for horror films were also declining.[22]

Development was further delayed when Giler and Brandywine co-founders Walter Hill and Gordon Carroll sued Fox for unpaid profits from Alien. Using Hollywood accounting methods, Fox had declared Alien a financial loss despite its earnings of over $100 million against a $9–$11 million budget; according to the studio, Alien was a low-earning film and a potential box-office failure. Brandywine's lawsuit was settled by early 1983: Fox would finance the development of Alien II, but was not required to distribute the film.[21][23]

Fox had installed new executives, including studio head Joe Wizan. Wizan was receptive to a sequel, although other executives remained noncommittal.[20][21] Larry Wilson, a development executive working for Giler, began looking for a scriptwriter by mid-1983.[20][21] He came across the script for the in-development science fiction film, The Terminator (1984), written by James Cameron. With Cameron's collaborative scriptwriting efforts with Sylvester Stallone on Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Wilson was convinced to show The Terminator's script to Giler, Hill, and Carroll.[24][25] Cameron was asked to write a treatment (a story outline) for Aliens II.[21] By November 1983, Cameron submitted a 42-page treatment to Fox which he had written in three days. The studio had a mixed reaction, with one executive calling it a constant stream of horror without character development.[20][21] The project stalled again, and negotiations began to sell the sequel rights to Rambo developers Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. The talks collapsed when neither side could agree on terms.[21]

Producer Gale Ann Hurd in 2016. The studio thought that Hurd would be an unsuitable producer for Aliens because of her relationship with Cameron, but he said that she was the only person who would stand up to him.

By July 1984, Lawrence Gordon had replaced Wizan as head of Fox studio production. With few projects in development, Gordon looked at sequels of Fox's existing properties and came across the Aliens II treatment. According to Gordon, it was an obvious project to pursue and he was surprised that no one had done so. Gordon also had a relationship with Hill since their work on the action-comedy, 48 Hrs. (1982).[21] Production of The Terminator was delayed for nine months because star Arnold Schwarzenegger was contractually obligated to film Conan the Destroyer (1984). Cameron used the time to develop his treatment, expanding it to ninety pages (each page representing one minute of screen time).[20][25] Cameron drew ideas from "Mother", one of his story concepts about an alien on a space station involving a power-loader suit.[26] This version was better-received by Fox executives and Gordon,[27][20] and Cameron also wanted to direct the project.[25]

He was a relatively-new director, however, and the studio was reluctant to grant his request. Cameron's biggest success at the time was Piranha II: The Spawning (1982): a low-budget, independent horror film. Once The Terminator was released in October 1984 to unexpected financial and critical success, elevating Cameron's directing credibility, Gordon hired him as Alien II's director.[25][27][21] Cameron later said that his low expectations for The Terminator led him to spend much of his free time during its production developing ideas for Aliens II, and used The Terminator as practice for some of his Alien II ideas to gain experience.[25] He turned down requests to direct a sequel to The Terminator so he could pursue Aliens II.[24] Cameron's collaborative partner and girlfriend, Gale Anne Hurd, was not taken seriously as a producer.[27] Fox did not believe that Hurd would stand up to Cameron, but the director said that she was the only person who would.[26] Hurd had several of her industry associates contact Fox executives to convince them she was a legitimate producer.[27] Cameron said that people tried to convince him not to take the job, believing that anything good about the film would be attributed to Alien director Ridley Scott and anything negative to Cameron, but he really wanted to make it.[28] Scott said that he was never offered the chance to direct the sequel, possibly because he was difficult to work with on the original.[29] The film's title, Aliens, reportedly came from Cameron writing "Alien" on a whiteboard during a pitch meeting and adding a "$" after it.[30][31]

Cameron turned in the finished script in February 1985, hours before a Hollywood writer's strike. The script was well-received, but Fox executives (including chairman Barry Diller) were concerned about the budget. Fox estimated the cost as close to $35 million, and Hurd said it would be closer to $15.5 million. Diller wanted to make the film at the lowest possible cost, offering $12 million; Cameron and Hurd quit the project in response. Gordon continued negotiating with Diller until he relented, and Cameron and Hurd returned.[21] In April 1985, conflict turned to the cast; Fox did not want Weaver to return because they expected her to demand a large salary.[21][27] Cameron and Hurd were insistent that Weaver return as the solo star; Fox refused, saying that they would damage the studio's negotiating power with Weaver's agent. Cameron and Hurd again left the project, marrying and going on a honeymoon. When they returned, they learned that the Aliens project was ready to move forward. Cameron credited Gordon with Aliens' being greenlit.[21]

The director had seen Alien while he was working as a truck driver, and remembered his fellow audience members' reactions to what they saw on screen. Cameron did not understand at first why Alien needed a sequel, believing it was a "perfect" film and it would be difficult to recreate the emotion and novelty of the original. He and Hurd agreed to combine the horror of Alien with the action of The Terminator. According to Hill, Cameron said that if the first film could be compared to a haunted attraction, Aliens should be like a roller coaster.[25] Cameron believed in having a strong female heroine to distinguish his films from typical Hollywood action fare, and wrote the script with a picture of Weaver on his desk.[27] He referred to The Terminator, and how he removed the normal protective forces from Sarah Connor so she had to fend for herself.[24] Cameron had also always wanted to make a film about space infantry.[25]

Bill Paxton (left, seen in 2014) and Michael Biehn (in 2016) played Colonial Marine Private Hudson and Corporal Hicks, respectively.

Weaver rejected a number of offers to return. She was only mildly interested after reading Cameron's script,[20] and had to be convinced that Aliens was not being made exclusively for financial reasons.[27][28] Weaver reportedly received a $1 million (equivalent to $2.33 million in 2019) salary and a percentage of the box-office profits, the highest salary of her career at the time.[21] Negotiations were reportedly so lengthy that Cameron and Hurd told Schwarzenegger's agent that they intended to re-cast Ripley (knowing that Weaver's agent would be told); terms were reached shortly afterwards.[20]

An unknown actor was sought to play Newt, and Henn was scouted by casting agents at her school in Lakenheath, England. Although she had no acting experience, Cameron said that she had a "great face and expressive eyes".[32] James Remar was cast as Hicks on the recommendation of his close friend Hill but left shortly after filming began, ostensibly due to urgent family matters or creative differences with Cameron. Remar later admitted that he was fired after his arrest for drug possession, and his relationship with Hill was damaged for over a decade.[33][34][4] Hurd hired Michael Biehn the following Friday,[34][4] and Stephen Lang also auditioned for the role.[4]

Paxton credited his casting as Hudson to a chance encounter with Cameron at Los Angeles International Airport. Cameron was shipping the Aliens script to Pinewood Studios, and Paxton said that he was interested in a role. The studio supported Paxton's casting because of positive feedback for his performance in Weird Science (1985).[35] Paxton remembered being late for his audition, in which he had to pretend that a cardboard tube was a rifle. He was concerned that the character would annoy audiences, until he realized he was comic relief for the audience.[36] Cameron rewrote the role for the actor.[37] Henriksen, worried about appearing as the android Bishop after the success of Ian Holm in Alien and Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner (1982), played the character like an innocent child who pitied the short-lived humans. Although he suggested distinctive eye pupils for Bishop when the character was alerted and had lenses mocked up, Cameron felt that they made Bishop look more frightening than the alien.[5] Biehn, Paxton, and Henriksen had worked with Cameron on The Terminator.[36][5] Aliens was Reiser's first major theatrical role, following small parts in films like Beverly Hills Cop (1984).[4]

The Colonial Marines cast was a mix of British and American actors who underwent three weeks of intensive training with the British Special Air Service (SAS).[34][4][36][38] Vietnam War veteran Al Matthews (Apone) helped to train the actors, teaching them not to point their weapons at people because their blanks were still hazardous.[36][38] The training was intended to help the marine cast to develop camaraderie and treat the rest of the cast (Weaver, Reiser, and Hope) as outsiders.[39][40] Biehn's late casting caused him to miss the training, and he said he regretted being unable to customize his armor like the other actors had (since he inherited Remar's).[34][4] Cameron created a backstory for each marine; Vasquez and Drake were recruited from a juvenile prison.[41]

Vasquez was Goldstein's first feature-film role. She credited her physique to being out of work and going to the gym.[37][5] Cameron asked how much bigger she could get in four weeks, prompting Goldstein to eat and train more to gain 10 pounds (4.5 kg). The Caucasian Goldstein wore dark contact lenses and underwent an hour of makeup to cover her freckles and darken her skin to appear more Latina; she studied gang interviews to develop her demeanor and accent.[42] Ricco Ross (Frost) was committed to Full Metal Jacket (1987), whose filming schedule overlapped for a week with Aliens'. Although Cameron offered to let Ross join the filming later, Ross was concerned that Kubrick's projects often overran their schedules and opted for Aliens instead.[5] Ralston misled the filmmakers to help get his part; he had finished filming Revolution (1985), and implied that he was its most-prominent actor after Al Pacino.[7] William Hope (Gorman) was cast as Hudson before Cameron and Hurd decided to take the character in a different direction.[7]

Cynthia Dale Scott (Dietrich) was an aspiring singer when she was cast.[4] Colette Hiller (Ferro) was upset that she had to cut her hair short for the role, since she was getting married afterwards. Although she made the filmmakers buy her a long, blonde wig, she never wore it.[7] Trevor Steadman (Wiezbowski) was a stuntman rather than an actor,[5] and Aliens was Daniel Kash's (Spunkmeyer) first film role. He offered Cameron his coat if he got the part, and also auditioned for Hudson.[43] The actors stayed at the Holiday Inn in Langley, Berkshire during filming. Paxton described the actors' time outside work positively: "God, we had the best time ... We all hung very hard together. That's where I first met [Henriksen], who I fell in love with. [Matthews] ... was a really good spirit to have around, with a great voice. And all these hilarious British characters, like [Steadman], the stuntman, who used to grab my bicep and go, 'Blimey, more meat on a cat's cock!'"[36]

Aliens was filmed almost entirely at Pinewood Studios in England.

Principal photography began in September 1985.[21][24] The budget was reported to be $18.5 million, in addition to film prints and marketing.[21] Filming, scheduled to finish in 75 days, was done primarily at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire near London.[24][27][44] The studio was chosen for its large sets.[45] Among other films, the black comedy Little Shop of Horrors and Revolution were also being filmed there; Al Pacino visited the Aliens set. Before Remar was fired, he accidentally shot a hole through Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors set.[36][4]

Filming was tumultuous.[27][20] Cameron, an American, was unfamiliar with British film-industry traditions such as tea breaks which interrupted production for up to an hour each weekday; he was frustrated at losing hours of filming every week.[20][27][36] In his book, The Making of Aliens, J. W. Rinzler described Cameron coming onto the set as George Lucas had before him for Star Wars (1977), but Cameron was aggressive and certain of what he wanted, which irked the crew. If he wanted to modify a scene (such as its lighting) in accordance with his vision, he did not involve the unionized crew.[27]

The crew were dismissive of Cameron for his relative inexperience, thinking that he had not done enough to earn such a prominent position and Hurd had her job only because she was his partner.[46][44][20] Cinematographer Dick Bush insisted on lighting the alien hive brightly (counter to Cameron's request), and was eventually replaced with Adrian Biddle.[3] First assistant director Derek Cracknell also ignored Cameron's requests.[27][46] Gale described the situation: "[Cameron] would ask him to set up a shot one way and [Cracknell] would say, 'Oh no no no, I know what you want,' ... Then he'd do it wrong and the whole set would have to be broken down."[46] The situation deteriorated until Cameron and Hurd fired Cracknell, and the Pinewood crew walked out in the middle of the day.[46]

Cameron called Fox for advice, and became determined to move the production out of England until Hurd convinced him otherwise. They gathered the crew to discuss their grievances; Cameron explained the importance of the production, and that any member of the crew who could not support it should step forward to be replaced. The situation was more difficult because the number of films simultaneously in production meant that the crew could not be exchanged, and the crew agreed to support Cameron if he supported their scheduled working hours.[46] The relationship between filmmakers and crew remained cool; when filming concluded at Pinewood, Cameron told the crew: "This has been a long and difficult shoot, fraught by many problems ... but the one thing that kept me going, through it all, was the certain knowledge that one day I would drive out the gate of Pinewood and never come back, and that you sorry bastards would still be here".[46] He later described most of the crew as "lazy, insolent, and arrogant".[46] Bill Paxton called the crew's work impeccable, but their attitude more relaxed than the American crews to which they were accustomed.[28]

The alien nest was filmed in the decommissioned Acton Lane Power Station in London, and the set was left in place until the 1989 superhero film Batman was filmed there.[39][47] While filming the dropship descent from the Sulaco, shaking collapsed the set roof onto the cast and crew. Most of the cast were unharmed, Cameron's head was cut by a large piece of debris.[26][48] Because of the tight budget, Hurd made Cameron pay for an early scene of a laser cutting Ripley free from her hyposleep chamber.[26][49] According to Henriksen, Paxton was unaware that he would be involved in the knife-trick scene until it was filmed; Henriksen nicked Paxton's finger during the reshoot.[26] Early, establishing scenes were filmed near the end of principal photography to capture the bond between cast and characters.[40]

Some improvisation was encouraged.[50] Weaver discussed tweaks to her character with Cameron on set, believing that she understood how Ripley would act.[28] Her line "Get away from her, you bitch!" had to be filmed in one take due to the tight schedule remaining, and the actress thought she had messed it up.[51] Paxton believed that he was not good at improvisation, and discussed ideas with Cameron before filming. One of his signature lines, "Game over man, game over", originated when Paxton developed a backstory for Hudson in which he was trained on simulators.[52] Henn found it hard to act afraid of the aliens (since she was fond of the actors in the suits), and imagined that a dog was chasing her.[32] Other cast members spent time with Henn between scenes, including Weaver and Paxton (who would color or craft things with her).[37][32] Biehn said that he and Paxton spent much of their free time together.[4] Weaver gave a bouquet of flowers to each actor on the day their death scene was filmed, and gave Reiser a bouquet of dead flowers.[28] Despite the difficulties during filming, Fox was satisfied with the daily footage; Aliens was delivered on time and on budget.[21]

Post-production began in late April 1986,[21] and Ray Lovejoy edited the film.[53] Several scenes were removed from Aliens' theatrical release, including Ripley learning about her daughter's death and a cocooned Burke begging her for death.[9] Fox and Hurd suggested removing a long opening scene detailing the lives of the colonists, Newt's family discovering the derelict alien ship, and her father being attacked by a facehugger, because it ruined the film's pacing and sense of mystery.[54][26] Two scenes with James Remar as Hicks (shown from the back) were used in the film.[4]

Cameron's final edit was two hours, 17 minutes long. Fox wanted the film to be under two hours so it could be shown more times per day in theaters, increasing its revenue potential. Fox production president Scott Rudin flew to England to ask Cameron and Hurd if they could cut another 12 minutes; Cameron was concerned that further cuts would make the film nonsensical, and Rudin relented.[21]

James Horner became acquainted with Cameron early in their careers, when they worked for director Roger Corman. Aliens was Horner and Cameron's first collaboration, one which Horner called a "nightmare".[57][58] He arrived in London to compose the score, expecting a six-week schedule. There was no film for him to score, however; Cameron was still filming and editing, and Horner had only three weeks to come up with a score.[20][58][59] The producers were unwilling to give him any more time, and he was scheduled to begin scoring The Name of the Rose (1986) shortly afterwards.[59]

Horner recorded the score at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra.[58][60] His schedule was so tight that the score for the climactic battle between Ripley and the queen was written overnight. Cameron first heard the score while it was being recorded by the orchestra, and did not like it; however, it was too late to make changes. The Terminator with composer Brad Fiedel's synth-inspired tracks had allowed Cameron regular feedback and rapid implementation of changes, but he had no experience managing orchestral music.[59] Cameron cut the score up, using pieces where he believed they fit best; he inserted pieces of Jerry Goldsmith's Alien score, and hired unknown composers to fill gaps.[60][59] The director said in a later interview that he thought the score was good, but did not fit the scenes he had filmed.[59] Horner's "alien sting" sound was initially only used once, during the scene with the cocooned woman. Cameron initially disliked it, but eventually used it throughout the film.[26] Unused portions of Horner's Aliens score were used in 1988's Die Hard.[61][62]

Conceptual artist Syd Mead designed the Sulaco, the Colonial Marines' craft (photo by Luke Ford).

Mead designed the Sulaco, the marines' spaceship. He conceived it as a large sphere with antennae, but Cameron wanted it to be flatter; the full craft had to pass the camera, and a sphere would not work with the film's aspect ratio.[28] Mead designed the craft as a commercial freighter carrying a military unit. Tts exterior was designed with a row of loading doors, a crane, and large gun fixtures to defend against threats.[66] Mirrors were used as a cost-cutting measure to increase the number of sleeping pods on the Sulaco and add a power loader.[43] Cobb was responsible for designing the Sulaco's dropship interiors, the marines' land vehicle, the armored personnel carrier (APC), and exteriors of the colony and its vehicles.[67][68][69] The Sulaco's dropship was designed to be life-size, for use on the Sulaco set,[45] but a smaller replica was used for some shots.[66] The APC was a disguised pushback tug for a Boeing 747.[66] The alien derelict spacecraft, originally used in Alien, had been in historian Bob Burns III' driveway since the first film was made.[26]

The marines' smart guns weighed 65 to 70 pounds (29 to 32 kg), and were constructed from German MG 42 anti-aircraft machine guns attached to a steadicam and augmented with motorcycle parts.[70][71] Since getting in and out of the smart-gun rig was difficult, the actors kept them on when not filming.[5] The pulse rifle was made from a Thompson submachine gun and a Franchi SPAS-12 pump-action shotgun in a futuristic shell.[72] The cast was trained in the use of guns and explosives. Weaver had not used a weapon before, and was opposed to weapons in general. Cameron explained that weapons were necessary, but secondary to the core narrative of Ripley bonding with (and protecting) Newt.[27][28][72] Weaver found using the weapons strange and difficult, due to their weight and her concern about pulling the wrong trigger.[72][28]

A cast was made of Henn's body, face, and her stunt double's legs to construct a lightweight dummy for Weaver to hold when carrying a gun; Henn's weight plus a gun would have been too heavy.[28] Goldstein had also not handled a gun before, and held her weapon incorrectly in closeups; Hurd stood in for her instead.[26] The flamethrowers were functional. The art department had covered the sets in an unspecified substance to artificially age them; the flamethrowers vaporized it, causing fire and heavy smoke. Goldstein struggled to breathe, and (since improvisation was encouraged) Paxton thought she was acting until he also became breathless.[50][26]

The nuclear explosion of the colony in the film's finale was created by shining a light bulb through cotton.[26] Reebok developed custom Reebok Pump shoes for Weaver to wear in the film.[36]

The alien queen puppet on display in 2012 to promote the Aliens: Colonial Marines video game

H. R. Giger, who designed the Alien creature, was not involved in Aliens and was reportedly unhappy about it.[73] According to Hurd, Giger was contractually obligated to Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) and Fox was not allowed to negotiate with him.[74] Giger was replaced by special-effects creator Stan Winston. Cameron (a designer) also contributed to designs, but was not as concerned with the warrior aliens because they were onscreen only briefly.[73]

The aliens were played by dancers and stuntmen in lightweight costumes, which allowed them to move quickly. A number of 8-foot (2.4 m) mannequins were used for aliens which were contorted into inhuman poses.[28] Although it appears that hordes of alien creatures are in the film, there were only 12 alien suits: simple, black leotards covered in molded foam for faster-moving shots, and detailed models with articulated upper bodies and mouths for closeups.[75] When the aliens were shot and destroyed, puppets were hung up and detonated. The aliens' acidic blood was a combination of tetrachloride, cyclohexylamine, acetic acid, and yellow dye.[28] Winston added arms to the chestburster alien form (since the adult form had arms), explaining how it could drag itself out of a host's chest. Two chestburster puppets were used: a reinforced one, and an articulated one for movement. A puppeteer punched the former through a fabricated latex-foam chest; the scene took several takes to film, because it could not pierce the clothing.[76][8]

Cameron designed the alien queen[73] and worked with Winston on several concepts, including large puppets, miniatures, and costumes with several people inside. A frame was built large enough to hold two people, covered in black polythene bags, and hung on a crane. The prototype was a success, and Cameron wrote the alien-queen scene.[77][26] The final alien queen was a 14-foot (4.3 m) puppet made of lightweight polyurethane foam.[71] Two people sat inside to control the arms; the legs were controlled by rods connected at the ankles, and a separate person whipped the tail around with fishing line. The head was manipulated with a combination of servomotors and hydraulics controlled by up to four people.[77][26] The effect was hidden by lighting, steam, slime, and smoke.[77][26]

The Stan Winston Studio had not used hydraulics before, and considered them a learning experience. They were essential for moving larger parts of the queen puppet, including the head; a foot press in the body could hydraulically move the tail up and down.[63] Shane Mahan sculpted the head by sight based on a maquette, since computer technology to scale up the model's design did not yet exist; it took several weeks to sculpt.[78] Two heads were built: a lightweight, fragile one, and another which could survive some damage. Each was articulated with hydraulics and cables to control the queen's mouth and lips.[63]

To create the effect of the queen piercing Bishop's chest with her tail, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis constructed a chestplate for Henriksen with a rubber segment of the queen's tail flattened against it. The tail was pulled forward by wire, apparently exploding through Bishop's torso. A rigid piece of tail (attached to a body harness) was used to show more of the tail moving through Bishop, and Henriksen was leveraged upward as if he was being lifted by the tail. To complete the effect, a dummy of Bishop was constructed with a spring-loaded mechanism which would forcibly separate his upper and lower body, as if the queen had ripped him in half. Once separated, Henriksen's upper body was below the set and a fake torso attached up to his shoulders. The android blood was milk, and after several days of filming it was sour and foul-smelling.[79]

John Richardson designed the mechanical power loader exosuit, with input from Mead. Like the queen, a prototype was built out of wood and polythene bags stuffed with newspaper to see how the movement would work.[28][45][77] The finished design was so cumbersome that stuntman John Lees, in a black skinsuit, operated it from behind.[77][28] The battle between the queen and power loader was choreographed extensively, as Weaver risked serious injury battling a large, unwieldy animatronic.[77] The camera was sometimes moved around to simulate subjects moving faster. The scene of the queen running at Ripley was one of the more difficult shots; the wires and rods had to be concealed, since they could not be removed in post-production.[77] Miniatures were used for parts of the scene with go motion, a version of stop motion with motion blur added.[77]

Aliens began a wide North American release on July 18, 1986.[3] During its opening weekend, the film earned $10.1 million from 1,437 theaters—an average of $6,995 per theater. It was the weekend's number-one film, ahead of the martial-arts drama The Karate Kid Part II ($5.6 million in its fifth weekend) and the black comedy Ruthless People ($4.5 million in its fourth weekend).[83] Based on its opening-five-day total ($13.4 million), Aliens was anticipated to become the summer's top film and surpass The Karate Kid Part II, Back to School and Top Gun.[21][82] These early figures exceeded Fox's expectations.[82] The Los Angeles Times reported long lines at theatres, even on weekday afternoons.[21]

It retained the number-one position in its second weekend with an additional gross of $8.6 million, ahead of the debuting comedy-drama Heartburn ($5.8 million) and The Karate Kid Part II ($5 million).[84] Aliens remained the number-one film of its third weekend with a gross of $7.1 million, ahead of the debuts of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives ($6.8 million) and the comedy Howard the Duck ($5.1 million).[85][86] The film fell to third place in its fifth weekend with a gross of $4.30 million, behind the debuts of the science-fiction horror film The Fly ($7 million) and the comedy Armed and Dangerous ($4.33 million).[87] Aliens was one of the top ten highest-grossing films for 11 weeks.[88]

By the end of its theatrical run, the film had grossed about $85.1 million.[88][89] This figure made it the year's seventh highest-grossing film, behind Back to School ($91.3 million), the science-fiction film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ($109.6 million), The Karate Kid Part II ($115.1 million), Platoon (138.5 million), the action comedy Crocodile Dundee ($174.8 million) and Top Gun ($176.8 million).[90][91] Aliens' box-office returns to the studio, minus the theaters' share, was $42.5 million.[92]

Box-office figures outside North America are inconsistent and not available for all 1986 films. According to the box-office tracking websites Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, Aliens earned from $45.9 million to $98.1 million; this gives it a worldwide gross of $131.1 million to $183.3 million, making it the year's fourth-highest-grossing film of 1986 behind Platoon ($138 million), Crocodile Dundee ($328.2 million), and Top Gun ($356.8 million), or the third-highest-grossing film behind Crocodile Dundee and Top Gun.[93][94] According to Fox's 1992 estimate, Aliens had earned $157 million worldwide.[95] The film was considered a success.[92]

Critics were divided about Aliens' intense action and horror, but consistent in their praise for Sigourney Weaver's (pictured in 2017) performance.

Aliens opened to generally-positive reviews.[82] It appeared on the cover of Time magazine, which called it "The Summer's Scariest Movie", in July 1986.[96] Audience polls by CinemaScore reported that moviegoers gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[97]

Reviewers generally agreed that Aliens was a worthy successor to Alien.[98][99] Variety and Walter Goodman said that it could not replicate the novelty of Alien, but Aliens compensated with special effects, technique, and a constant stream of set-piece thrills and scary scenes.[98][3] Variety added that Aliens was made by an expert craftsman, implying that its predecessor was more artistic endeavor.[98] Sheila Benson said that Aliens was clever and ironically funny, but lacked Alien's pure horror. Benson attributed this to an overabundance of creature effects in the intervening years, particularly the 1982 science-fiction horror film The Thing (which, Benson said, took alien monstrosities to an extreme).[100]

According to Rick Kogan, Aliens demonstrated that science-fiction horror could still be entertaining after many poorly-received Alien-derived films.[101] Dave Kehr and Richard Schickel called it a rare sequel which surpassed the original, and Kehr appreciated the action used to develop the characters. Schickel wrote that the film had evolved from Alien, giving Weaver new emotional depths to explore.[102][99] Jay Scott said that the talented Cameron had redefined the war film, combining Rambo with Star Wars.[103] Kogan agreed that Cameron possessed a knack for action pacing and excitement, but Kehr believed that Cameron pushed some elements beyond believability.[101][102]

Roger Ebert called the film's last hour "painfully, unremittingly intense" in horror and action, leaving him emotionally drained and unhappy. Ebert believed that it could not be defined as entertainment, despite his admiration of the filmmaking craft on display.[104] Dennis Fischer wrote for The Hollywood Reporter, however, that the unrelenting scenes of action and suspense worked for Aliens as they had in The Terminator; tension was created by placing the characters in successive, increasingly-difficult situations. According to Fischer, though, Cameron mistakenly thought that over-long scenes created suspense.[105] Gene Siskel was more critical, describing the film as "one extremely violent, protracted attack on the senses ... Some people have praised the technical excellence of Aliens. Well, the Eiffel Tower is technically impressive, but I wouldn't want to watch it fall apart on people for two hours."[106] In the Orlando Sentinel, Jay Boyar called it the (franchise) of the 1980s: the most "intensely shocking" film in years.[107]

Reviewers consistently praised Weaver's performance.[98][104] Benson called her the film's "white-hot core" around whose "defiant intelligence" and "sensual athleticism" Aliens was built, and Ripley returned not for vengeance but out of compassion.[100] Ebert credited Weaver's sympathetic performance with holding the film together.[104] Kogan compared her to a more attractive John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone's action character).[101] Scott agreed, saying that Weaver made action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger look like male pin-up models. He described her as the ultimate adventure heroine, balancing action with femininity and maternal instincts.[103] Critical of the film overall as a "mechanical" and "inflated example of formula gothic", Pauline Kael praised Weaver: "With her great cheekbones, her marvelous physique, and her lightness of movement, Weaver seems to take over by natural authority and her strength as an actress. Her surprisingly small, tense mouth holds all the suspense in the story ... Weaver gives the movie a presence; without her it’s a B picture that lacks the subplots and corny characters that can make B pictures amusing."[108]

Most of the cast was also praised, particularly Biehn, Goldstein, Henriksen, Henn and Reiser.[104][98][100] Benson, however, noted that less time was spent exploring the new characters than was spent in Alien.[100] Schickel said that Henn played her character as endearingly brave and clever, without self-pity.[109] Benson praised Horner's "rumitative, intelligent" music,[100] but Fischer criticized it for borrowing too much from Goldsmith's score and Horner's work on Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984).[105]

Sigourney Weaver's (pictured in 1989) Academy Award nomination for Best Actress was considered a milestone when the Academy paid little attention to science fiction.

Aliens received two awards at the 1987 Academy Awards: Best Sound Effects Editing (Don Sharpe) and Best Visual Effects (Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, Suzanne Benson). Weaver was nominated for Best Actress, losing to Marlee Matlin for the romantic drama Children of a Lesser God).[110] Weaver's was the first Best Actress nomination for a science-fiction film, when the genre was given little respect.[111][112] The film received four other nominations: Best Original Score for Horner (losing to Herbie Hancock for the musical drama Round Midnight); Best Art Director for Peter Lamont and Crispian Sallis (losing to Gianni Quaranta, Brian Ackland-Snow, Brian Savegar and Elio Altamura for the romance, A Room with a View); Best Editing for Ray Lovejoy (losing to Claire Simpson for Platoon), and Best Sound for Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter, and Roy Charman (losing to John K. Wilkinson, Richard Rogers, Charles Grenzbach and Simon Kaye for Platoon).[110] Weaver's nomination remains a rarity in the action or science-fiction genres.[113] At the 44th Golden Globe Awards, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama (again losing to Matlin for Children of a Lesser God).[114]

At the 40th British Academy Film Awards, Aliens received the award for Best Special Visual Effects and three other nominations: Best Production Design (losing to A Room with a View); Best Makeup and Hair for Peter Robb King (losing to Sohichiro Meda, Tameyuki Aimi, Chihako Naito, and Noriko Takemazawa for the war film Ran), and Best Sound (losing to romantic drama Out of Africa).[115] At the 14th Saturn Awards, the film received eight awards: Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress (Weaver), Best Performance by a Young Actor (Henn), Best Supporting Actress (Goldstein), Best Supporting Actor (Paxton), Best Special Effects (Winston and the L.A. Effects Group) and Best Director and Best Writing (both for Cameron).[116] It received a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.[117]

Aliens was released on VHS in February 1987, priced at $89.98.[118][119] An extended cut of the film, including scenes deleted from the theatrical release, was broadcast on CBS TV in 1989. An extended edition with more deleted scenes, including the opening scene of Newt's family investigating the derelict spacecraft, was released on LaserDisc in 1991. The extended cut is 157 minutes long, 20 minutes longer than the theatrical cut.[120][15]

The extended edition was released on VHS and DVD in 1999 as part of the Alien Legacy box set with the other three available Alien films: Alien, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.[120] The DVD version was also sold separately, and both versions included additional behind-the-scenes footage.[121] The 2003 Alien Quadrilogy nine-DVD box set included all four films and an additional disc for each film with behind-the-scenes footage and featurettes (including a three-hour documentary, Superior Firepower: The Making of 'Aliens). Theatrical and extended cuts were available for each film. The Aliens disc included commentary by cast and crew members, including Cameron; Weaver did not participate. Each film was sold separately (including its bonus disc) in 2004.[15][122]

Aliens was released on Blu-ray in 2010 as part of the Alien Anthology box set with remastered footage, theatrical and extended versions, and featurettes found in earlier releases. The film was released separately on Blu-ray in 2011.[123][124] It was released on Blu-ray and digital download for its 30th anniversary in 2016, with a new interview with Cameron about his inspirations for the film. In addition to the theatrical and extended versions, the release contained a limited-edition lithograph of Ripley in battle with the alien queen, an art book focused on the Aliens comic books by Dark Horse Comics, and collectible cards with concept art by Cameron.[125] A limited-edition, 75-copy vinyl soundtrack was also released that year.[126]

Michael Biehn signing a copy of the film's DVD cover in August 2012 at Midtown Comics

Merchandising for a film was a relatively-new concept, popularized by the Star Wars film series.[127] Kenner had attempted to release figures based on Alien in 1979. Only an alien action figure was released, which was quickly withdrawn when it was deemed too frightening for children. Aliens was considered a different prospect (despite its adult-oriented content), since it focused on action and featured marines (instead of ordinary workers) fighting a large number of aliens. The toys were intended to tie into Operation Aliens (a children's cartoon scheduled for release with Alien 3 in 1992) and a series of mini-comics by Dark Horse Comics. Figures included Colonial Marines and alien hybrids.[128][129]

Aliens' enduring popularity has been demonstrated with a variety of merchandise, including action figures,[129] punching bags,[126] video games,[126] comic books,[130] clothing[126] and board games.[131] The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) has released figures based on the film, including Newt,[13] Burke and Cameron dressed as a Colonial Marine.[132][133] NECA revived the original Kenner designs in 2019, releasing better-quality models.[134][135]

The film has had several video-game adaptations. The earliest version, a first-person shooter Aliens: The Computer Game (1986), was released on several platforms. A game with the same name was released in 1987. A side-scroller, Aliens (1987), was released in Japan for the MSX.[136] A 1990 arcade game, Aliens, allowed players to play as Ripley or Hicks against alien variants; some levels required the player to control Newt.[137][136] Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure, an adventure game focusing on puzzles, was released in 1995.[136][138] A first-person shooter, Alien Trilogy (1996), was based on Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3.[136][139] Aliens Online (1998) was an online game which allowed players to play as Colonial Marines or aliens.[136] Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013) is a first-person shooter and a canonical sequel of Aliens, focusing on the marines sent to search for the original team which was sent to the colony.[136][138] Several other games have the Aliens brand or are side stories or sequels to the film's events, including Aliens: Thanatos Encounter (2001),[136] Aliens Infestation (2011),[140] Aliens: Extermination (a 2006 arcade game)[139] and the Aliens vs. Predator game series.[140] Aliens-themed pinball levels were released for Pinball FX 2 as Aliens vs. Pinball (a standalone game) and Sci-Fi Pinball, with other science-fiction franchises.[141][140]

A number of comic books based on (and continuing) the story of Aliens have been published (primarily by Dark Horse Comics) since 1988. Dark Horse published a crossover of the titular aliens and those of the Predator franchise by 1990, creating a derivative Alien vs. Predator franchise with its own films, video games and comic books;[142][143][130][144] this led to additional crossovers with Superman,[145] Batman,[146] Green Lantern,[147] Judge Dredd,[148] Wildcats[149] and the Terminator franchise.[150] Reebok's boots designed for Ripley became available to the public in 2016; other versions included boots based on the power loader, Bishop, the Colonial Marines and the alien queen.[151][126] Author J. W. Rinzler published The Making of Aliens, a 300-page behind-the-scenes book with cast and crew interviews and previously-unseen photographs, in August 2020.[73] Operation Aliens, a board game, was released in 1992. Players as cast as a Colonial Marine or Ripley and tasked with finding a self-destruct code to destroy an infested spaceship.[131][152]

Aliens has influenced popular culture; elements of the film, such as a team of soldiers being dismantled by a villain, have been repeated to the point of cliché. The same is true of Horner's influential (and often imitated) score,[55][71] which regularly appeared in action-film trailers for the following decade.[59][57] The film's influence may be seen in video-game (particularly science-fiction games) ships, armor and weapons.[187][188] Ripley became a post-feminist icon, a proactive hero who retained feminine traits.[71]

The film has been quoted, including Paxton's "Game over, man, game over".[185][189] Weaver's "Get away from her, you bitch" is considered one of Aliens's most iconic lines, and has often been cited in other media.[71][190] Paxton is remembered as the only actor to play characters killed by an alien, a Terminator (in The Terminator), and a Predator (in 1990's Predator 2).[37] The ensemble cast's popularity led to many members appearing together in later films, including Henriksen, Goldstein and Paxton in Near Dark (1987) and Goldstein and Ralston in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989).[40] Biehn lost a role in Cameron's Avatar (2009) because Weaver had been cast, and the director did not want to associate that film with Aliens.[4]

The 1989 Italian film Shocking Dark is a remake of Aliens, moving much of the film's plot and scenes to a Venetian setting and incorporating elements of The Terminator; outside Italy, it was released as Terminator II.[191] Aliens was named by director Roland Emmerich as one of his top ten science-fiction films, with Alien.[192]

The claim has been made that Aliens belongs among the greatest films,[193][194] and that it is one of the best science-fiction,[195] action[196] and sequel films.[197] According to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,

[Weaver]'s Lt. Ellen Ripley gets madder when maternal and becomes the greatest sci-fi action heroine ever in [Cameron's] sensational follow-up to Alien (1979). One of cinema's greatest sequels, Aliens picks up ... fifty-seven years later ... and the traumatized Ripley is sent back with an untrustworthy company man, a team of swaggering Marines (including Cameron favorites Michael Biehn, Bill "Game over!" Paxton, plus Jenette Goldstein’s terrific tough cookie Vasquez), and another ambiguous android (Lance Henrikson as Bishop). If Alien was a haunted-house-in-space frightener, Cameron's relentless, furiously intense thrill-ride ... is the fort under siege in space ...[198]

In 2008, Empire ranked it 30th on the magazine's "500 Greatest Movies Of All Time" list.[193] Ellen Ripley has been recognized; the American Film Institute ranked her the eighth-most-heroic character on its 2003 100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains list,[199] and she was ninth on Empire's 2006 "100 Greatest Movie Characters" list.[200]

Aliens is considered one of the best sequels of all time, equal to (or better than) Alien.[197][52][201][202][203][204] According to Slant Magazine, it exceeded Alien in every way.[201] Den of Geek called it the best blockbuster sequel ever made, and remarkable even as a standalone film.[202] In 2017, the website ranked it the second-best film in the series (behind Alien).[205] In 2011, Empire called it the greatest movie sequel ever.[206]

Several publications have ranked Aliens as one of the best science-fiction films ever made: fourth by Paste,[195] fifth by Syfy,[207] seventh by IGN,[208] ninth by Empire,[209] 10th by GamesRadar+,[210] 13th by Rotten Tomatoes[211] and 27th by Business Insider.[212] The film was unranked by Time Out.[213] It has been listed as one of the best films of the 1980s: number one by Consequence of Sound,[214] number six by ShortList[215] and Time Out,[216] number seven by Empire,[217] number 20 by GamesRadar+,[218] number 49 by Parade,[219] and unranked by Cosmopolitan,[220] Highsnobiety[221] and Marie Claire.[222] Several publications have listed it as one of the greatest action films of all time: number one by Time Out,[196] number two by Empire[223] and Entertainment Weekly,[224] number three by IGN,[225] number 12 by Men's Health,[226] and unranked by the Evening Standard.[227] The British Film Institute called Aliens one of the 10 greatest action films of all time: "A matriarchal masterpiece of God-bothering structural engineering, there’s really little that Aliens doesn't get right; from its slow-burn exemplification of character and world-building through to its jab-jab-hook-pause-uppercut series of sustained climaxes, Cameron delivers a masterclass in action direction".[197] Empire readers ranked the film 17th on its 2017 "100 Greatest Movies" list.[228]

It has a 97% approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator from 76 reviews, with an average rating of nine out of 10. According to the website's consensus, "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."[229] The film has a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[230] Despite her character's popularity, the casting of Jenette Goldstein (a white, Jewish actress of Russian, Moroccan, and Brazilian descent) as the Latina Vasquez has been considered odd. Goldstein has said that she considers herself unrecognizable as Vasquez on film, but a muscular actress was required and the filmmakers could not find anyone else with her physique.[231]