Predator Badlands Breaks Box Office Records Worldwide

Fans embrace the new Predator movie as it beats all projections

Predator: Badlands has delivered a huge surprise at the box office, opening far stronger than anyone expected. The movie, backed by solid reviews and word-of-mouth buzz, earned $40 million in the U.S. and another $40 million overseas, bringing its global total to $80 million within just three days.

‘Predator: Badlands’ opens to $80M at the worldwide box office ????

• Biggest opening weekend for any Predator movie

• Production budget was $105M pic.twitter.com/25p2RdPfkG

— Culture Crave ???? (@CultureCrave) November 9, 2025

The film was expected to open at around $25 million domestically, but its impressive debut has placed it alongside Alien: Romulus, which redefined the sci-fi landscape when it hit theaters two years ago. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, Badlands proves that audiences still have a huge appetite for the Predator universe.

'Predator: Badlands' has grossed $80 million in its opening weekend.

This is the biggest opening in the franchise's history. pic.twitter.com/viUwxpb9JH

— Elle Fanning Central (@ellecentral) November 10, 2025

A comeback worth celebrating

Trachtenberg had already won over fans with Prey, the 2022 prequel that critics called one of the best Predator films ever made. Many argued that Prey deserved a full theatrical run instead of a streaming release on Hulu — and Badlands now confirms that those fans were right. The film’s strong performance shows that the franchise still has serious box office power when given the big-screen treatment.

image source:x

In comparison, Badlands’ global earnings in just one weekend have already outpaced the entire domestic run of Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer, which earned under $5 million after its troubled release in 2013. Despite the modest numbers, Snowpiercer later found cult status and critical acclaim, with a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a long-running TV adaptation starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs.

From ‘Snowpiercer’ to ‘Parasite’: Bong Joon-ho’s influence endures

Bong went on to make Okja for Netflix and later the Oscar-winning Parasite, which became a global phenomenon. His latest project, Mickey 17, earned $130 million worldwide earlier this year. By comparison, Predator: Badlands is already positioned to cross that milestone in its second weekend — a major achievement for a film once predicted to perform modestly.

A new direction for the franchise

With strong storytelling, tight pacing, and brutal action sequences, Badlands revives everything that made the Predator series iconic. It’s a reminder that great filmmaking — not just nostalgia — can breathe new life into old franchises.

Fans can catch Predator: Badlands in theaters now. Judging by its explosive start, this may just be the comeback that redefines one of cinema’s most enduring sci-fi sagas.