Predator: Badlands dominates with $80M debut, leaving rivals behind

Intergalactic carnage anyone? Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands just stormed the box office, pulling in a killer $80 million worldwide — half from U.S. audiences alone. This means, the Yautja are back, and business is booming.
Starring Elle Fanning and breakout star Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, this latest trip into the Predator universe follows ahunter on his first-ever kill mission — and apparently, fans were more than ready to join the chase.
Budget: $105 million
Opening weekend: $80 million worldwide
Franchise record: Beats Alien vs. Predator (2004) for biggest launch
That's a strong record for a series that’s been lurking in the streaming shadows lately. Trachtenberg — who also directed Prey and the animated Predator: Killer of Killers — has officially graduated from “cult favorite” to “box office boss.”
Faith-based drama Sarah’s Oil managed a modest $4.5 million debut (hey, miracles happen), while the courtroom drama Nuremberg landed in fifth with $4.1 million — not exactly a verdict for celebration, even with Russell Crowe and Rami Malek on board.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson’s dark psychodrama Die My Love bled out with just $2.8 million, proving that not even Oscar bait can survive in the Badlands.
And poor Sydney Sweeney. Her boxing biopic Christy didn’t even make the top 10, clocking in at $1.3 million. Ouch. Somebody call the cutman.
For now, the message is clear: audiences aren’t in the mood for courtroom tears or boxing gloves. They just want to see an alien rip some heads off — and Predator: Badlands delivers that in spades.
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