Credit: 20th Century Studios
The early box office reports are in for Predator: Badlands, and the numbers could be a positive sign for a potential sequel.
What is the box office for the Predator: Badlands previews?
Per Deadline, Predator: Badlands grossed $4.8 million in previews, which includes early Wednesday screenings and Thursday showings. It is now on track for a domestic opening weekend between $25 million and $30 million.
If the tracking is accurate, Predator: Badlands will have the highest launch for a solo Predator movie. The biggest opening in the franchise belongs to Alien vs. Predator, a crossover event combining the Predator and Alien franchises. Alien vs. Predator opened to $38 million in August 2004.
Predator: Badlands 2 has not been announced. However, director Dan Trachtenberg has teased a third Predator movie if Badlands performs well financially. Producer Ben Rosenblatt hinted that a Predator sequel could include Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return as Dutch.
“Obviously, the holy grail of Predator movies would be getting Arnold back in there,” Rosenblatt said. “And it’s always been something in the back of our minds that it would be really great to see him come back to this franchise that he’s made iconic and that’s made him iconic. So, he’s been really wonderful.”
Schwarzenegger’s Dutch made a cameo at the end of the animated Predator: Killer of Killers.
As for Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg subverted the formula by making the Predator a protagonist. The official synopsis reads: “Set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.”
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi plays Dek, the titular Predator, and Elle Fanning portrays Thia, a severed Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic.
Predator: Badlands is directed by Trachtenberg from a screenplay written by Patrick Aison. Producers include Trachtenberg, Rosenblatt, John Davis, Marc Toberoff, and Brent O’Connor.
Predator: Badlands is now in theaters.
