“Predator: Badlands” hit 9 million views on Hulu since making its streaming debut over the weekend, becoming the platform’s best film premiere since the sci-series’ last live-action film “Prey” in 2022.
Hulu reported Tuesday that the critically praised film from Dan Trachtenberg brought the streaming total for the “Predator” franchise to more than 300 million hours.
“Predator: Badlands” takes a notable departure from the series’ 1980s horror roots, serving instead as a sci-fi adventure where one of the deadly Yautja serves as the film’s protagonist. Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi stars as Dek, a fearsome Predator who, ironically, is regarded as the runt of his clan.
When Dek’s father kills his brother, Dek escapes his home and crash lands on Genna, the deadliest planet in the galaxy. He goes on a quest to kill the apex predator known as the Kalisk to prove himself to his father and forms an unlikely alliance with Thia, an android played by Elle Fanning, to find the unkillable creature.
“Predator” devotees showed up in droves on the film’s opening weekend in theaters, earning a $40 million domestic opening weekend that was the largest for a solo “Predator” film even after inflation adjustment. But “Badlands” struggled to draw wider interest in the series despite the critical and audience acclaim and had a front-loaded run, finishing with a $184 million global cume against a reported $105 million budget.
Still, “Badlands,” combined with Trachtenberg’s Hulu exclusive films “Prey” and “Predator: Killer of Killers,” have revitalized what was a largely dormant franchise prior to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
To commemorate the film’s streaming release, Hulu also rolled out the Predator Creators Collection, which features 15 new videos from online creators like “Happy Sad Confused” podcast host Josh Horowitz, who go deeper into the “Predator” series.
