Predator: Badlands was a hit for Disney and 20th Century Studios at the box office this weekend, thanks to an $80 million haul that was evenly split between domestic and international territories. Predator: Badlands‘ first weekend in theaters set a record for the franchise: It was the best opening for a Predator movie to date, beating out previous record-holder The Predator from 2018.
It’s a better-than-expected performance for the ninth Predator movie, the first to be theatrically released under Disney’s ownership of 20th Century. Ahead of Badlands‘ release, the movie was expected to earn somewhere around $60 million, according to Variety.
The film’s PG-13 rating helped bring in a wider audience, something of a double-edged (laser) sword for the Predator-enthusiast crowd, which is used to R-rated fare. But director Dan Trachtenberg’s latest take on the nearly 40-year-old action franchise doesn’t really dial down the violence. Badlands is noisy, explosive, and bloody, but the splatters of gore primarily burst forth from Yautja and Weyland-Yutani synths, soaking the screen in bright green and milky white blood.
Trachtenberg’s third Predator movie, after 2022’s Prey and this year’s animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers, doesn’t rehash the plots of previous movies, instead leaning on the spirit and iconography of the franchise. It’s a deviation for sure, leaning more into quirky sci-fi buddy action and even lighthearted comedy — and smartly tapping into the similarly revitalized Alien franchise with co-star Elle Fanning as the android Thia.
Like this summer’s Alien: Earth, Predator: Badlands shows that there are still fresh, intriguing stories to be told in these franchises, without needing to constantly one-up or remake previous movies. Despite a change in tone and perspective, Badlands is clearly resonating with audiences, once again proving that Trachtenberg’s contribution to the Predator franchise is a net positive one. Hopefully, for Predator fans still hungry for more, Badlands‘ box office performance will give the director more leeway to get creative with the brand under Disney. At this point, I’d even trust Trachtenberg to make a proper new Alien vs. Predator movie.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
