After a rough October with “Tron: Ares” and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” Disney might have a sleeper hit on their hands with 20th Century’s “Predator: Badlands,” which is earning the best opening weekend and audience reception ever for a “Predator” film as it builds towards a $37 million domestic launch.
If it can stretch a little more past $38.2 million, “Badlands” will alsotop the unadjusted opening of the 2004 crossover film “Alien vs. Predator.” As it stands, following a $15.6 million opening day that includes $4.8 million from previews, it has already blown past the $24.6 million opening of “The Predator,” which was released in 2018 and was the last theatrically released film in the franchise.
A year after that, Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and in 2022 released the Hulu exclusive “Prey,” which earned critical acclaim and put the future of the “Predator” series in the hands of its director, Dan Trachtenberg. While he released a second Hulu film with the animated “Predator: Killer of Killers” earlier this year, this is Trachtenberg’s first “Predator” film on the big screen, coming with a pivot from R-rated horror to PG-13 sci-fi action.
And that pivot is paying off. Along with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 85% critics and 96% audience, “Predator: Badlands” has earned an A- on CinemaScore, the highest grade ever for a solo or crossover “Predator” film.
If word-of-mouth spreads among teen and college-age audiences, “Badlands” may become the film that introduces “Predator” to a new generation and gives it a chance to leg out in a way “Tron: Ares” — which opened to $33 million is now crawling to a $70 million domestic finish — never could. With a reported budget of $105 million, it will need those legs.
Also opening this week is Amazon MGM’s “Sarah’s Oil,” an inspirational film about Sarah Rector, a Black girl who was thrust into the public spotlight in the early 20th century when she inherited oil-rich land. The film is on pace for a $4.4 million opening from 2,410 locations, good for the No. 4 spot.
Behind it is Sony Pictures Classics’ “Nuremberg,” a retelling of the trial of Nazi leader Hermann Goring starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon. The film is set to open at No. 5 with $3.75 million from 1,820 theaters.
Outside the charts, Mubi has released Lynne Ramsay’s harrowing drama “Die My Love” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson in 1,983 locations. Acquired by the indie distributor for $24 million in the biggest deal at Cannes this year, the film might flame out fast as it is estimated for a $2.4 million opening while getting panned by audiences with a D+ CinemaScore.
