NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — “Predator: Badlands” topped all films at North American theaters with a $40 million debut, the studio estimated Sunday, a better-than-expected result that lifted the box office slightly out of its fall doldrums.
Ahead of 2025's worst box office weekend, Predator: Badlands faces little competition from new films. Not accounting for inflation, the film's $40 million opening marked a new high for the dreadlocked alien franchise, surpassing the $38.3 million opening of Alien vs. Predator in 2004.
“Predator: Badlands,” written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg, grossed another $40 million overseas for Walt Disney Co.'s 20th Century Studios. The key factor for Predator: Badlands is that, with a budget of $105 million, it is also the most expensive Predator film yet.
“Badlands,” the eighth film in the franchise that began with 1987's “Predator,” offers a new twist on the sci-fi series. On a distant planet, a young rogue predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) meets an android explorer (Elle Fanning) and the two embark on a journey. Reviews (85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) were good. Moviegoers gave the film an A- on CinemaScore.
Good news has been hard to find in theaters lately. On Wednesday, the largest movie theater chain, AMC Theaters, posted a quarterly loss of $298.2 million, partly due to a lackluster summer season. But the fall was even worse. Last month was the highest-grossing October in nearly three decades. Few award contenders have made a big splash.
A new wave hit theaters this weekend. But despite the abundance of star power, most of them failed.
“Die, my love” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, which opened with $2.8 million in 1983 theaters. In the film, directed by Lynne Ramsay, Lawrence plays a young mother and Pattinson plays her husband. Mubi shelled out $24 million for “Die My Love” after his debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Viewers gave the film a “D+” CinemaScore.
“Christie,” The film, starring Sydney Sweeney as professional boxer Christy Martin, debuted with $1.3 million in 2011 theaters. The film, the first film distributed by production company Black Bear Pictures, has since received Sweeney Awards buzz. it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Sony Pictures' Classics “Nuremberg,” the post-World War II drama about the Nuremberg trials, starring Rami Malek and Russell Crowe, managed to do a little better. It opened with $4.1 million from 1,802 theaters.
He was pushed back slightly by the best newcomer performer: “Sarah Oil.” The Amazon MGM release opened with $4.5 million in sales from 2,410 locations. It stars Naya Desir-Johnson as a young black girl in the early 1900s who discovers that her Oklahoma property is rich in oil. “Sarah's There's Oil” received a rare “A+” rating from ticket buyers on CinemaScore.
Perhaps the most promising of the upcoming films hitting theaters this weekend is Neon. “Sentimental value.” The film by Norwegian-Danish director Joachim Trier, winner of the Cannes Film Festival, is included in the list of the main contenders for this year's Oscar. family drama cast includes Renata Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas and, in her second film of the weekend, Elle Fanning. It opened in four theaters to $200,000, averaging $50,000 per screen. This is the third result of the year.
The debut of Predator: Badlands brought Walt Disney Co. $4 billion in ticket sales worldwide for the fourth year in a row. It also ended a short streak of disappointments for the studio, including Tron: Ares and Springsteen: Deliver Me Out of Nowhere. Considering that potentially the two biggest box office hits of the year are still ahead – Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash. Disney is on track to top $5 billion.
Final internal data will be released Monday, according to Comscore. This list takes into account estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday in theaters in the United States and Canada:
1. Predator: Badlands, $40 million.
2. “Regret About You,” $7.1 million.
3. Phone Black 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 Out of Nowhere,” $2.2 million.
10. “Tron: Ares,” $1.8 million.
