Box Office Battle: 'Alien' looking to topple 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

After two weekends atop the box office, Disney's (DIS) superhero sequel "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" is expected to cede the top slot to 21st Century Fox's (FOX, FOXA) "Alien: Covenant," which opens this weekend. "Alien," the sixth installment in the science-fiction franchise, has already earned $4.2M in Thursday night previews, and is expected to domestically gross $41M-$43M for the weekend. "Guardians of the Galaxy," which has already earned over $263M domestically, is expected to earn an additional $36M-$40M in its third weekend at theaters. Also opening this weekend is Fox's family-friendly comedy "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul," based on the series of children's books, which is expected to earn in the $9M-$11M range. Fox's R-rated comedy "Snatched," starring Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn, is expected to earn an additional $8M-$10M in its second weekend at theaters. Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK), Lionsgate (LGF.A, LGF.B), Sony (SNE), Time Warner (TWX), and Viacom (VIA, VIAB).