'Predator: Badlands' tops box office with $80 million worldwide
[November 10, 2025]
By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK (AP) — “Predator: Badlands” led all films in North American
theaters with a debut of $40 million, according to studio estimates
Sunday, a better-than-expected result that slightly lifted the box
office from its autumn doldrums.
On the heels of the worst box office weekend of 2025, “Predator:
Badlands” faced little competition from new titles. Not accounting for
inflation, the $40 million opening marked a new high for the dreadlocked
alien franchise, besting the $38.3 million launch of 2004’s “Alien vs.
Predator.”
“Predator: Badlands,” written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg,
collected another $40 million overseas for the Walt Disney Co.’s 20th
Century Studios. A key factor for “Predator: Badlands” is that, with a
budget of $105 million, it’s also the most expensive “Predator” film.
“Badlands,” the eighth movie in the franchise that began with 1987’s
“Predator,” offers a novel twist for the sci-fi series. On a remote
planet, a young, outcast predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi)
encounters an android researcher (Elle Fanning), and the two set off on
a journey. Reviews (85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been good.
Moviegoers gave it an “A-” CinemaScore.
Good news had lately been hard to find in movie theaters. On Wednesday,
AMC Theaters, the largest theater chain, posted a $298.2 million
quarterly loss, partly due to a less-than-stellar summer season. But the
fall has been worse. Last month was the lowest-grossing October in
nearly three decades. Few awards hopefuls have made much of a mark.
This weekend, a new wave hit theaters. But despite plenty of star power,
most fell flat.
“Die My Love,” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, launched
with $2.8 million from 1,983 theaters. The film, directed by Lynne
Ramsay, stars Lawrence as a new mother and Pattinson as her husband.
Mubi plunked down a reported $24 million for “Die My Love” after its
debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Audience slammed it with a “D+”
CinemaScore.
“Christy,” starring Sydney Sweeney as the professional boxer Christy
Martin, debuted with $1.3 million in 2,011 theaters. The film, the first
one distributed by production company Black Bear Pictures, has earned
Sweeney awards buzz since its premiere at the Toronto International Film
Festival.
Sony Pictures Classics’ “Nuremberg,” a post-World War II drama about the
Nuremberg trials starring Rami Malek and Russell Crowe, managed to do a
bit better. It opened with $4.1 million in 1,802 theaters.
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This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Thia, portrayed by
Elle Fanning, left, and Dek, portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi,
in a scene from "Predator: Badlands." (20th Century Studios/Disney
via AP)
It was slightly edged by the best performer of the newcomers: “Sarah’s
Oil.” The Amazon MGM release opened with $4.5 million from 2,410
locations. It stars Naya Desir-Johnson as a young Black girl in the
early 1900s who learns that her Oklahoma land allotment is rich with
oil. “Sarah’s Oil” scored a rare “A+” CinemaScore from ticket buyers.
Arguably the most promising of the prospective awards movies to open in
theaters over the weekend was Neon’s “Sentimental Value.” The film, a
prize-winner at Cannes, directed by Norwegian-Danish filmmaker Joachim
Trier, has been tabbed as a major Oscar contender this year. The family
drama’s cast includes Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter
Lilleaas, and, in her second movie of the weekend, Elle Fanning. It
opened in four theaters with $200,000, giving it a $50,000 per-screen
average. That’s the third best of the year.
The debut of “Predator: Badlands” sealed the Walt Disney Co.’s fourth
straight year of $4 billion in worldwide ticket sales. It also broke a
short streak of disappointments for the studio, including “Tron: Ares”
and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” With potentially two of the
biggest box-office hits of the year still to come in “Zootopia 2” and
“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Disney is poised to surpass $5 billion.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in
the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Predator: Badlands,” $40 million.
2. “Regretting You,” $7.1 million.
3. “Black Phone 2,” $5.3 million.
4. “Sarah's Oil,” $4.5 million.
5. “Nuremberg,” $4.1 million.
6. “Chainsaw Man,” $3.6 million.
7. “Bugonia,” $3.5 million.
8. “Die My Love,” $2.8 million.
9. “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” $2.2 million.
10. “Tron: Ares,” $1.8 million.
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