Badlands Surprises With Record Opening Weekend
“Predator: Badlands” is this weekend’s apex predator at the box office, collecting a better-than-expected $40 million in its domestic debut.
Those ticket sales were enough to cement a franchise record, overtaking 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” ($38 million, not adjusted for inflation) as the biggest opening weekend in the long-running property. The sci-fi series ignited with 1987’s “Predator,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and extended over the years with sequels, reboots and “Alien” crossover films.
“Badlands” is reviving a moribund box office. With a pileup of flops in October, such as “Tron: Ares” and “The Smashing Machine,” revenues for the month had plunged to a 28-year low. November releases including “The Running Man,” “Now You See Me 3,” “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” will aim to keep up the momentum. That’s as overall domestic box office returns are pacing roughly 3% ahead of 2024 — a gap that’s been rapidly shrinking since summer, when ticket sales were 25% ahead of last year. Ticket sales remain around 20% behind pre-pandemic times.
Heading into the weekend, Disney and 20th Century’s “Predator: Badlands” was aiming for $25 million to $30 million to start. However, positive reviews and great word-of-mouth, including an “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls, helped the newest “Predator” crush initial expectations. “Badlands” also had a broader theatrical reach with its PG-13 rating. (Most of the “Predator” films have been rated R.) Meanwhile premium large formats like Imax and Dolby, which cost more than the average ticket, contributed a substantial 59% of the overall domestic tally.
“Predator: Badlands” earned another $40 million at the international box office, bringing its global total to $80 million. That’s a promising start for the $105 million-budgeted tentpole. It’s also a return to form for Disney, which has struggled with recent theatrical releases such as “Tron: Ares” and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” Now through the end of the year, Disney is poised to dominate at the box office with “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” both of which could earn $1 billion — and then some.
Dan Trachtenberg returned to direct “Predator: Badlands” after helming the two most recent franchise entries, 2022’s “Prey” and this June’s animated “Predator: Killer of Killers,” both of which skipped theaters and landed directly on streaming. This standalone story is about an outcast alien hunter (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) and his unlikely ally (Elle Fanning) who embark on a dangerous journey to defeat a menacing adversary. Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge praised “Badlands” as the “most interesting — and the strongest film with ‘Predator’ in the title since the 1987 original.”
“Predator: Badlands” was easily No. 1 over several new releases — including Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson’s psychodrama “Die My Love,” Rami Malek-led historical drama “Nuremberg,” Sydney Sweeney’s boxing biopic “Christy” and Amazon MGM’s inspirational true story “Sarah’s Oil” — which were mostly catering to older audiences or arthouse crowds.
“Sarah’s Oil” enjoyed the best start among newcomers with $4.5 million from 2,410 theaters, enough for fourth place on domestic charts. The feel-good film, about a young Black girl who finds oil on her land and becomes a millionaire at age 11, landed a rare “A+” grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
“Nuremberg” wasn’t far behind on box office charts, debuting at No. 5 with $4.1 million from 1,802 venues. Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the film, which follows a psychiatrist (Malek) who has to determine whether the Nazi Hermann Goring (Russell Crowe) is fit to be prosecuted at the Nuremberg trials.
In eighth place, “Die My Love” collected $2.8 million from 1,983 theaters. That’s not a terrible opening except that Mubi reportedly paid $24 million for distribution rights. And “Die My Love,” directed by Lynn Ramsey, was saddled with a “D+” grade on CinemaScore exit polls — which isn’t great in terms of word-of-mouth but also isn’t entirely unexpected for a polarizing and deeply unsettling film. Lawrence has been praised for her performance as a new mother who begins to unravel while suffering from postpartum depression.
More to come…
