“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 painful misfires in October, such as Disney’s “Tron: Ares” and A24’s “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.
“‘Predator: Badlands’ shows how unpredictable and dynamic the marketplace can be. All it takes is one over-performance to get the industry back on track,” says Comscore’s head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian. “This is a great lead in for what promises to be one of the better months of November for the industry.”
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, Dolby and 3D, 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.”
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“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. Some of those titles managed to break through more than others.
“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. Moviegoers were fonder of “Nuremberg” than film reviewers; the film has a 68% average on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 95% average from audiences.
“Die My Love” stumbled in eighth place with $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 Lynne Ramsay, isn’t connecting with mainstream audiences. It 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.
“Christy,” featuring Sweeney as the boxing trailblazer Christy Martin, didn’t benefit from star power, either. The R-rated sports drama, the first theatrical release from Black Bear Pictures, debuted at No. 11 with a paltry $1.3 million from 2,011 theaters.
Second place went to “Regretting You” with $7.1 million from 3,196 locations, a scant 8% decline from the prior weekend. Paramount’s adaptation of the Colleen Hoover novel has demonstrated impressive staying power with $38.5 million domestically and $70.9 million globally after three weekends in theaters.
“Black Phone 2” dropped to third place with $5.3 million from 2,943 venues in its third frame, down just 36% from last weekend. So far, Universal and Blumhouse’s scary sequel has grossed $70 million in North America and $120 million worldwide. To compare, the original “Black Phone” earned $90 million domestically and $170 million worldwide by the end of its theatrical run.
In limited release, Neon’s familial drama “Sentimental Value” amassed $200,000 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, translating to $50,000 per location. That’s the third-highest screen average of the year and among the top 15 of post-pandemic times, according to Neon. Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier (“The Worst Person in the World”) directed “Sentimental Value,” which stars Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Reinsve as father (an eccentric filmmaker) and daughter (a successful actress) who reunite after decades of estrangement.
“We’re excited to see this enthusiasm continue to build as we expand through November,” said Neon’s chief distribution officer Elissa Federoff.
From Variety US