PREDATOR: BADLANDS Scores Record-Breaking Number One Box Office Opening
After a downright dreadful October, the box office has finally experienced a bit of relief thanks to the greatest hunter in the universe. Disney and 20th Century Studios unleashed Predator: Badlands in theaters over the weekend and it easily took the number one spot on the charts. What’s more, it massively over-performed, which delivered a record opening for this storied, sci-fi franchise.
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Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who previously helmed 2022’s Prey, Badlands opened to an estimated $40 million domestically. Estimates heading into the weekend were in the $20 to $30 million range, so it absolutely blew by tracking. Things unfolded similarly overseas, where the film pulled in another $40 million for an $80 million global opening. The previous domestic record for this franchise was Alien vs. Predator, which opened to $38.2 million back in 2004.
This time, the Yautja didn’t need the help of the Xenomorphs, even though Badlands does share some DNA with the Alien franchise, it isn’t being sold as a big crossover. Rather, it stands on its own two feet and audiences have responded very kindly. The movie blowing past its tracking is all about word-of-mouth, which has been stellar up to this point. It also doesn't hurt that it's PG-13 rather than R, like every other movie in this franchise. That’s good news because with a $105 million budget, Disney needs this movie to hang around for a while. In the early going though, things are looking good.
The film centers on a young Yautja named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) who is cast out from his clan and winds up on a dangerous planet seeking redemption. There, he finds an unlikely ally in a damaged android named Thia (Elle Fanning) as they embark on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
For Trachtenberg, this asserts him as the Predator whisperer, as he’s now three for three within this franchise over the last three years. The ambitious prequel Prey remains one of the best-reviewed entries in the franchise to date. Meanwhile, Trachtenberg co-directed this year’s animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers, which was also met with a very warm response.
Both of those movies went directly to Hulu, however, which makes it all the more impressive that Badlands did so well at the box office. Audiences didn’t get stuck in the “we have Predator at home” mentality. This still managed to become a must-see event for many folks. That’s a credit to the prestige this series has earned under Trachtenberg’s guidance.
Predator: Badlands is in theaters now. For more, check out FANGORIA #65 from the archives, which features the original Predator on the cover.
