Predator: Badlands revives franchise and B.O.

Predator: Badlands

The box office has officially found its pulse again, thanks to Disney and 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands, which stormed into theaters this weekend with a $40 million domestic debut, well above expectations. Globally, the film matched that number, giving it an $80 million start and re-energizing what had been a sluggish fall season.

Across all releases, total grosses hit $83.1 million, a welcome bump from the same frame in 2024, when Venom: The Last Dance led the pack with just $15.9 million in its third weekend. The strong opening is a promising start to a stacked November that could culminate in a blockbuster Thanksgiving stretch, with The Running Man, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Wicked: For Good, and Zootopia 2 all on deck.

If these upcoming releases hold up, Hollywood could still claw its way to a $9 billion domestic total by year’s end — a much-needed rebound after a weak September and October.

Predator: Badlands – A Roaring Comeback

After years in the cinematic jungle, Predator is back, and this time, audiences and critics actually agree on something. Director Dan Trachtenberg, returning after helming 2022’s Hulu hit Prey, has delivered what’s being called the most emotionally resonant and visually inventive entry in the franchise’s 38-year history.

The film scored an 85% critics rating and a massive 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes — unheard of numbers for a series once dismissed as brainless creature fare. Trachtenberg, who co-wrote the screenplay, insisted on practical effects, real prosthetics, and camera rigs over heavy CGI, creating what he calls a “hands-on, heartbeat-level experience.”

“Practical effects are a hill I’ll die on and be buried under,” Trachtenberg told reporters.

Shot in New Zealand under the working title Backpack, the film introduces Elle Fanning as Thia, a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic — a nod to the Alien universe — whose prosthetic-free legless performance was achieved through physical rigging and blue-screen harnesses. The film also marks a tonal shift: for the first time, the Predator is depicted not as the monster, but as the story’s tragic anti-hero.

Critics are impressed. The San Francisco Chronicle called the film “remarkably engaging,” while The Wall Street Journal dubbed it “a date-night movie posing as a sci-fi killing jamboree.” Fangoria summed it up best: “A valiant and violent addition… the unlikely return of the buddy-action flick.”

With a $105 million budget, Badlands needs to hit around $263 million worldwide to turn a profit — but with its positive word of mouth and accessible PG-13 rating, the film may have legs. For perspective, 2018’s The Predator earned just $51 million domestically and $160.5 million worldwide on an R rating.

If Badlands keeps its momentum, it could easily become the highest-grossing entry in the series and reaffirm the franchise’s value to Disney after Prey became Hulu’s most-streamed original in history.

Regretting You – The Slow-Burn Sleeper Hit

In second place, Sony’s romantic drama Regretting You continues to defy the odds. Down just 9% from last weekend, the film added $7.1 million, bringing its 17-day domestic total to $38.6 million and $71 million worldwide.

While critics remain lukewarm (54% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences are loving it, giving the film an 86% rating and showing that word of mouth still matters. The movie, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel, opened modestly at $13.7 million but has displayed remarkable staying power — something even Hoover’s last big adaptation It Ends With Us can respect.

Black Phone 2 – October’s Lone Survivor

In third, Universal and Blumhouse’s Black Phone 2 pulled in $5.3 million, a 36% drop in its fourth weekend. That brings its 24-day domestic total to $70.1 million and its worldwide total to $120.4 million on a lean $20 million budget. It’s the only October release still drawing solid crowds, proving Blumhouse’s low-risk, high-reward model still works.

Critics gave it a 72% approval, while audiences remain strong at 83%. It won’t match the original’s $161 million global take, but it’s a solid performer that continues to resonate with horror fans.

Sarah’s Oil – Hidden History, Strong Debut

Amazon MGM’s Sarah’s Oil, inspired by the true story of Sarah Rector, the 11-year-old Black/Creek Nation girl who became America’s youngest millionaire in 1913, opened in fourth place with $4.5 million from 2,400 screens. Directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (The Young Messiah) and starring newcomer Naya Desir-Johnson alongside Zachary Levi, the film has earned a near-perfect 97% audience score and glowing early word-of-mouth for its inspirational storytelling and authenticity.

Shot in Oklahoma, the $18 million production is drawing comparisons to Harriet and could find a long runway among family audiences through the holidays.

Nuremberg – History Revisited

Rounding out the top five is Sony Pictures Classics’ Nuremberg, the WWII psychological drama starring Rami Malek as U.S. Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley and Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring. The film opened with $4.1 million, buoyed by strong audience reception (95%) and mixed-to-positive critical reviews (68%).

Crowe’s performance has been singled out as “towering,” with The Hollywood Reporter calling the film “a bracingly relevant historical drama.”

The $50 million production will need staying power to reach profitability, but strong word of mouth could help it build momentum through awards season.

Looking Ahead

November is shaping up to be a comeback month for Hollywood. The next few weekends will see The Running Man and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t battling for attention before Wicked: For Good casts its spell on November 21, and Zootopia 2 opens Thanksgiving week.

Last year’s Thanksgiving frame delivered a record $276.8 million, and while 2025 may not hit that same high, the month’s strong start suggests the box office could finally be heading back toward pre-pandemic form.

Weekend Box Office (November 7–9, 2025)

Courtesy of Comscore

RankTitleStudioWkTheatresWeekend Gross% ChangeAvg./TheatreTotal Gross
1Predator: Badlands20th Century13,725$40,000,000—$10,738$40,000,000
2Regretting YouParamount33,196$7,125,000-9%$2,229$38,596,000
3Black Phone 2Universal42,943$5,300,000-36%$1,801$70,109,000
4Sarah’s OilAmazon MGM12,410$4,459,000—$1,850$4,459,000
5NurembergSony Pictures Classics11,802$4,147,411—$2,302$4,147,411
6Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze ArcSony/Crunchyroll32,285$3,600,000-42%$1,575$38,031,000
7BugoniaFocus Features32,043$3,500,000-30%$1,713$12,310,000
8Die My LoveMUBI11,983$2,830,924—$1,428$2,830,924
9Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere20th Century32,200$2,200,000-42%$1,000$20,396,000
10Tron: AresDisney51,970$1,800,000-41%$914$71,260,727

Total Weekend Gross: $74,962,335

REELated:

IFTA elects The Asylum’s Paul Bales as new Chairperson

Paul Bales

Predator: Badlands

The box office has officially found its pulse again, thanks to Disney and 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands, which stormed into theaters this weekend with a $40 million domestic debut, well above expectations. Globally, the film matched that number, giving it an $80 million start and re-energizing what had been a sluggish fall season.

Across all releases, total grosses hit $83.1 million, a welcome bump from the same frame in 2024, when Venom: The Last Dance led the pack with just $15.9 million in its third weekend. The strong opening is a promising start to a stacked November that could culminate in a blockbuster Thanksgiving stretch, with The Running Man, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Wicked: For Good, and Zootopia 2 all on deck.

If these upcoming releases hold up, Hollywood could still claw its way to a $9 billion domestic total by year’s end — a much-needed rebound after a weak September and October.

Predator: Badlands – A Roaring Comeback

After years in the cinematic jungle, Predator is back, and this time, audiences and critics actually agree on something. Director Dan Trachtenberg, returning after helming 2022’s Hulu hit Prey, has delivered what’s being called the most emotionally resonant and visually inventive entry in the franchise’s 38-year history.

The film scored an 85% critics rating and a massive 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes — unheard of numbers for a series once dismissed as brainless creature fare. Trachtenberg, who co-wrote the screenplay, insisted on practical effects, real prosthetics, and camera rigs over heavy CGI, creating what he calls a “hands-on, heartbeat-level experience.”

“Practical effects are a hill I’ll die on and be buried under,” Trachtenberg told reporters.

Shot in New Zealand under the working title Backpack, the film introduces Elle Fanning as Thia, a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic — a nod to the Alien universe — whose prosthetic-free legless performance was achieved through physical rigging and blue-screen harnesses. The film also marks a tonal shift: for the first time, the Predator is depicted not as the monster, but as the story’s tragic anti-hero.

Critics are impressed. The San Francisco Chronicle called the film “remarkably engaging,” while The Wall Street Journal dubbed it “a date-night movie posing as a sci-fi killing jamboree.” Fangoria summed it up best: “A valiant and violent addition… the unlikely return of the buddy-action flick.”

With a $105 million budget, Badlands needs to hit around $263 million worldwide to turn a profit — but with its positive word of mouth and accessible PG-13 rating, the film may have legs. For perspective, 2018’s The Predator earned just $51 million domestically and $160.5 million worldwide on an R rating.

If Badlands keeps its momentum, it could easily become the highest-grossing entry in the series and reaffirm the franchise’s value to Disney after Prey became Hulu’s most-streamed original in history.

Regretting You – The Slow-Burn Sleeper Hit

In second place, Sony’s romantic drama Regretting You continues to defy the odds. Down just 9% from last weekend, the film added $7.1 million, bringing its 17-day domestic total to $38.6 million and $71 million worldwide.

While critics remain lukewarm (54% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences are loving it, giving the film an 86% rating and showing that word of mouth still matters. The movie, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel, opened modestly at $13.7 million but has displayed remarkable staying power — something even Hoover’s last big adaptation It Ends With Us can respect.

Black Phone 2 – October’s Lone Survivor

In third, Universal and Blumhouse’s Black Phone 2 pulled in $5.3 million, a 36% drop in its fourth weekend. That brings its 24-day domestic total to $70.1 million and its worldwide total to $120.4 million on a lean $20 million budget. It’s the only October release still drawing solid crowds, proving Blumhouse’s low-risk, high-reward model still works.

Critics gave it a 72% approval, while audiences remain strong at 83%. It won’t match the original’s $161 million global take, but it’s a solid performer that continues to resonate with horror fans.

Sarah’s Oil – Hidden History, Strong Debut

Amazon MGM’s Sarah’s Oil, inspired by the true story of Sarah Rector, the 11-year-old Black/Creek Nation girl who became America’s youngest millionaire in 1913, opened in fourth place with $4.5 million from 2,400 screens. Directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh (The Young Messiah) and starring newcomer Naya Desir-Johnson alongside Zachary Levi, the film has earned a near-perfect 97% audience score and glowing early word-of-mouth for its inspirational storytelling and authenticity.

Shot in Oklahoma, the $18 million production is drawing comparisons to Harriet and could find a long runway among family audiences through the holidays.

Nuremberg – History Revisited

Rounding out the top five is Sony Pictures Classics’ Nuremberg, the WWII psychological drama starring Rami Malek as U.S. Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley and Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring. The film opened with $4.1 million, buoyed by strong audience reception (95%) and mixed-to-positive critical reviews (68%).

Crowe’s performance has been singled out as “towering,” with The Hollywood Reporter calling the film “a bracingly relevant historical drama.”

The $50 million production will need staying power to reach profitability, but strong word of mouth could help it build momentum through awards season.

Looking Ahead

November is shaping up to be a comeback month for Hollywood. The next few weekends will see The Running Man and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t battling for attention before Wicked: For Good casts its spell on November 21, and Zootopia 2 opens Thanksgiving week.

Last year’s Thanksgiving frame delivered a record $276.8 million, and while 2025 may not hit that same high, the month’s strong start suggests the box office could finally be heading back toward pre-pandemic form.

Weekend Box Office (November 7–9, 2025)

Courtesy of Comscore

RankTitleStudioWkTheatresWeekend Gross% ChangeAvg./TheatreTotal Gross
1Predator: Badlands20th Century13,725$40,000,000—$10,738$40,000,000
2Regretting YouParamount33,196$7,125,000-9%$2,229$38,596,000
3Black Phone 2Universal42,943$5,300,000-36%$1,801$70,109,000
4Sarah’s OilAmazon MGM12,410$4,459,000—$1,850$4,459,000
5NurembergSony Pictures Classics11,802$4,147,411—$2,302$4,147,411
6Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze ArcSony/Crunchyroll32,285$3,600,000-42%$1,575$38,031,000
7BugoniaFocus Features32,043$3,500,000-30%$1,713$12,310,000
8Die My LoveMUBI11,983$2,830,924—$1,428$2,830,924
9Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere20th Century32,200$2,200,000-42%$1,000$20,396,000
10Tron: AresDisney51,970$1,800,000-41%$914$71,260,727

Total Weekend Gross: $74,962,335

REELated:

IFTA elects The Asylum’s Paul Bales as new Chairperson

Paul Bales

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