Fox's Alien: Covenant is expected to take over the top spot this weekend at the North American box office, ending the two-week reign of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

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Pre-release projections place Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant on the path to an opening weekend of between $35 million and $40 million, with the Guardians sequel expected to add about $30 million to its domestic tally. The follow-up to 2012's Prometheus has already secured more than $40 million internationally after opening in 34 foreign markets.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is already outpacing its 2014 predecessor, with $259 million domestically as of Tuesday. With an additional $30 million expected this weekend, the film should easily go on to surpass the first film's $333 million domestic total.

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Prometheus opened in 2012 with $51 million, and ended its theatrical run with $403 million worldwide. Although Covenant's opening is tracking slightly behind its predecessor, the fact that Fox kept the production budget under $100 million -- compared to the $130 million budget on Prometheus -- means the film's smaller opening isn't necessarily cause for concern. That should be good news for Scott, who has already stated he has two sequels to Alien: Covenant planned.

Opening Friday nationwide, Alien: Covenant stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England, and Benjamin Rigby.

(via Deadline)