Aliens opens across the U.S. in 1986. Director James Cameron’s sequel to 1979’s Alien rewires the franchise from slow-boil horror to action adventure thriller and is a box office and critical success. Sigourney Weaver earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination in her return as Ripley. The franchise would continue with at least three more sequels and two prequels but never with the same results.
This Day in Halloween: "Aliens" opens across the U.S. in 1986. / Illustration by Sorprisela Martinez