“Predator: Badlands” Slays Atop The Weekend Box Office!

The latest installment in the long-running Predator franchise, titled Predator: Badlands, has debuted at the top of the weekend box office, boasting the best franchise-wide numbers yet.

Starring Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning, Predator: Badlands opened to an estimated $40 million at the US box office this weekend. This particular number has allowed the latest live-action Predator film to obtain the biggest debut of the franchise yet, followed closely by Alien Vs. Predator, which opened to an approximate $38 million back in 2004.

I know. I know. That’s not much of a difference, especially when inflation is brought up. But hey, as far as Hollywood numbers are concerned, a win is a win. And the good news is that Predator: Badlands ended up being an actual good movie that I enjoyed watching.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, it currently has an 85% Critic Score and an impressive 95% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, a much-welcome feat considering how the movie was facing a hate campaign prior to the release date due to certain Predator “fan boys” not appreciating a more “emotional” take on the iconic killer and such a creature being paired up with a female protagonist.

Heck! There were certain folks taking to social media to vent their frustration about the new movie’s Predator possibly being revealed to be a female of the species when the trailer dropped. Sigh!

Miserable people, I tell you. Just miserable.

Anyway, as of writing this, Predator: Badlands has grossed almost $80 million at the global box office against a reported production budget of $105 million.

As I said, I really enjoyed watching it. Fanning did an impressive job playing Thia and Tessa. Even though the characters looked alike, there’s a stark contrast between their personalities. Schuster-Koloamatangi also did an amazing job as the young Yautja named Dek. The story by Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison really made me root for a freaking Predator. Ha!

The narrative themes include the concept of family, revenge, breaking away from tradition, respecting nature, and more. There’s a lot of “humanity” in this film, which is funny considering a single human doesn’t appear onscreen.

Here’s my review!

I highly recommend that you consider watching Predator: Badlands in theaters. Along with the emotional stuff, it is packed with action! The approximate 1 hour 40 minutes runtime hits the right spot due to the well-written pace.

As for the rest of the top 10 for this weekend, the new releases include Sarah’s Oil, Nuremberg, Die My Love, and Christy.

While I’m kind of sad to see the talented Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence still trying to have a huge comeback, with Die My Love being her latest failure, I’m very ‘Meh!’ about Sydney Sweeney’s continued flops at the box office, especially considering her recent controversies. At this point, Sweeney can disappear into pop culture irrelevance.

November 7 – November 9, 2025 Weekend Box Office

1. Predator: Badlands – $40 million
2. Regretting You – $7.1 million
3. Black Phone 2 – $5.3 million
4. Sarah’s Oil – $4.4 million
5. Nuremberg – $4.1 million
6. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc – $3.6 million
7. Bugonia – $3.5 million
8. Die My Love – $2.8 million
9. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere – $2.2 million
10. Tron: Ares – $1.8 million

For those wondering, Nuremberg is a psychological thriller starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, and Leo Woodall. Based on the book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai (2013), the movie has psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Malek) trying to determine if Hermann Göring (Crowe) is fit to stand trial at the Nuremberg trials.

Sarah’s Oil is a biographical drama inspired by the book Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden (2014).

I might give both movies a look down the line.

What about you? Did you watch Predator: Badlands?

Let us know.

–

(via Box Office Mojo)

–

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Geekiary was recently targeted in financial fraud, leading us to launch a GoFundMe to help with bill payments to keep the website afloat.

Please consider donating and sharing the campaign.

Thank you!

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary