The film's box office performance was moderate, grossing over $544 million worldwide. While it did not match the original's success, it secured a spot as a guilty pleasure for fans of the first film.

In the climactic battle, the humans use an alien sphere (a captive alien intelligence) to locate the queen. They lure her to Area 51, where former President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman)—still psychically linked to the aliens—sacrifices himself to destroy her shield. Ultimately, the queen is killed in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, but the victory feels hollow.