Since the first Alien movie back in 1979 the Alien franchise has proved its worth as a great crossover movie with the main caricature so strong it has broken free of the confines of the original movies and found a home in other movie series with equally strong main characters.
Well before the first Alien crossover movie Predator 2, released in 1990 tantalised its viewers with the conformation of a shared universe between the Predator and the Alien. This came in the form of an Alien’s head seen as a trophy from a previous victory.
This confirmation of a shared world culminated in the release of the first Alien crossover movie Alien Vs. Predator.
In a recent exploration by Betway Insider into the most successful movie franchises of all time, Marvel took the third place spot, a high achievement. Marvel has a fan base that is almost self-driving, as can be seen by the findings with regard to on-going popularity and demand. Betway states “The movie series has seen fans searching for its movie titles 43,221,000 times”
What Makes a Successful Crossover Movie?
Successful crossover movies make use of each movie series fans and followers, hoping to amalgamate and convert them to followers of both the movie series involved. As can be seen, a successful movie series has a staggering amount of people trying to find it, viewers and potential viewers alike. One thing they have in common is the genre of movie that they are into. The most successful crossovers are the ones where the genre remains comparable between the two series that contribute separate elements. This means fans from one side will not be alienated by the other side’s involvement, but are much more likely to be excited by the interaction and possibly retrospectively watch and appreciate the other series movies in general.
The first Alien crossover movie did this successfully drawing from The Predator series followers to increase its own. With the first Alien/Predator crossover being released in 2004, it did not take long before the second was released in 2007. Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem. This movie sees an even stronger crossover emerge, one where Alien and Predator have produced a hybrid, this is first revealed during the crash of a Predator ship where the captive Predalien escapes. Fans of both movie series welcomed the release enthusiastically, if not unexpectedly as the collaboration had added significant depth and evolution to both main characters and set them on a new adventure.
With 11 years head start the Alien series had a much more significant following, but neither movie series lacked fans. When all the elements came together in Alien Vs. Predator it produced a movie that elevated both original series and gave a boost to the future prospects for the franchise owners.
One which has successfully then gone on to produce the Prometheus prequel series that looks back into the origins of the Alien species and sets the scene for the other movies in the franchise.
