Dan Trachtenberg is the hero of the hour as his new movie, Predator: Badlands, has ended the drought at the domestic box office and kicked off November in high style. The 20th Century and Disney franchise reboot opened well ahead of expectations, topping the domestic box office with a franchise-best $40 million from 3,725 theaters — surpassing prerelease projections of $25 million. Overseas, it matched that figure with another $40 million, making for a global start of $80 million.
The film scored the biggest U.S. opening in the Predator franchise’s history, dethroning AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), which opened with $38.4 million. It also achieved the highest global debut for the series, surpassing 2018’s Predator ($48.9 million). Critics and audiences alike have praised the film, earning it an A– CinemaScore and a remarkable 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One studio insider put it best: “This is what happens when you make good movies — people show up and tell their friends.”
Co-conceived by Trachtenberg and his Prey writer Patrick Aison, Badlands blazes a new trail for the nine-film franchise that began with John McTiernan’s 1987 classic. The story centers on Dek, a disgraced Predator (played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) who teams up with Elle Fanning’s Thia — a Weyland-Yutani synthetic — on a dangerous hunt across the lethal planet Genna. The twist: Dek, once a hunter, becomes an anti-hero.
The success of Badlands comes as a much-needed boost for cinemas, driving overall weekend revenue higher than the same period last year. Paramount’s Regretting You, based on the Colleen Hoover novel, took second place with $7.1 million, reaching $70.9 million globally. Meanwhile, Black Phone 2 held strong at No. 3 with $5.2 million, crossing the $120 million mark worldwide.
Amazon MGM’s Sarah’s Oil, inspired by the true story of a Black woman who became Texas’s richest oil tycoon, surprised with a $4.5 million debut and an A+ CinemaScore. Sony Pictures Classics’ Nuremberg followed with $4.1 million, fueled by strong audience word of mouth. However, Mubi’s Die My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, struggled to connect with moviegoers, earning just $2.5 million and a rare D+ CinemaScore.
With Predator: Badlands reigniting fan enthusiasm, Hollywood may finally be clawing its way out of a months-long slump. It’s proof that quality storytelling — and a little nostalgia — still pack box office power.
