Box Office Badass: ‘Predator Badlands’ Kicks Off November With Record $40M U.S. Opening, $80M Globally

Whew.

Dan Trachtenberg is the hero of the hour as his new movie, Predator: Badlands, has ended the drought at the domestic box office and kicked off November in high style. The movie opened well ahead of expectations to top the domestic box office chart with a franchise-best $40 million (prerelease tracking had it opening to $25 million). Overseas, it likewise took in $40 million for a global start of $80 million.

The pic scored the top opening of the sci-fi franchise domestically after stealing the crown from AVP: Alien vs. Predator, which debuted to $38.4 million in 2004, not adjusted for inflation.

The 20th Century and Disney release has glowing reviews and equally growing audience reaction to thank. It is the only Predator film, including the two Alien mash-ups, to earn an A- CinemaScore, while its PostTrak exits are through the roof, including five out of five stars.

Badlands, which Trachtenberg co-conceived with hisPreywriter Patrick Aison, blazes a new trail for the now nine-film franchise that began with John McTiernan’s 1987 classic,Predator. The series, from producer John Davis, landed at Disney following the Fox merger.

Trachtenberg has always surprised, beginning with 10 Cloverfield Lane(2016) and followed by 2021’sPrey and June’sPredator: Killer of Killers, an animated anthology, both of which bowed on Disney’s Hulu. In this case, he’s made a villainous Predator named Dek, played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, into the protagonist who pairs with Elle Fanning’s Weyland-Yutani synthetic known as Thia. Dek has been discarded by his Yautja clan, and in a last-ditch effort to prove himself, he flies his brother Kwei’s ship to Genna, the most dangerous planet in the universe, to go on an unsanctioned hunt for its most mythical beast. That’s where he meets Thia.

Another surprise is the stealth-like performance of Regretting You, the adaptation of the Colleen Hoover book. Now in its third weekend, the female-skewing movie is suddenly making headlines for its staying power after finally pulling ahead of the hit horror pic Black Phone 2.

Paramount is estimating the female property will fall a scant eight percent or less to $7.3 million to come in No. 2 — despite the entry of a number of new films — and finish the weekend with a domestic tally of $38.8 million. Marc Weinstock, Paramount’s recently departed worldwide president of marketing and distribution, was the driving force in convincing the prior regime at the studio to pick rights to distribute the pic in the U.S. and select markets on behalf of Constantin films. He’s also largely responsible for the marketing campaign.

Blumhouse’s Black Phone sequel held at No. 3 with an estimated $5.2 million in its fourth weekend for a domestic tally of $70 million.

Amazon MGM’s Sarah’s Oil — based on the true story of a black woman who became the richest woman in Texas because of oil — looks to come in No. 4 with a solid $4.5 million opening thanks to appealinng to females. While critics are mixed, the faith-tinged film is resonating deeply with audiences, as evidenced by its coveted A+ CinemaScore and stellar 97 percent ranking on Rotten Tomatoes.

A gaggle of awards players opened, led by Sony Pictures Classics’ awards darling Nuremberg. The historical pic is expected to round out the top five with an estimated $4.1 million. It likewise boasts strong praise from audiences, including an RT score of 96 percent.

Award contenders struggling in their box office debuts include Mubi’s Jennifer Lawrence-Robert Robert Pattinson vehicle Die My Love, which earned a rarely seen D+ CinemaScore from moviegoers, alongside a “rotten” audience ranking of 44 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (critics like it far more). It looks to come in No. 8 with roughly $2.5 million to $2.7 million.

The Sydney Sweeney-led Christy, another awards player starring a high-profile actress, may not crack the top 10. The good news: Similar to Lawrence in Die My Love, Critics have praised Sweeney’s performance, even if they have issues with the movie itself. Christy received a solid B+ CinemaScore and solid reviews. Based on a true story, Sweeney transformed her body to play Christy Martin, who helped legitimize women’s boxing. The biopic stars Ben Foster as the trainer who becomes her abusive husband.

Neon is opening acclaimed Swedish drama Sentimental Value — one of several awards contenders it has in the mix this year — in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles this weekend. Early returns suggest it could post an impressive per-location average of $50,000, one of the best of the year and among the 10 best of all time for a foreign-language film. Joachim Trier directed the family drama, which stars Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning.

More to come.

This story was originally published at Nov. 8 at 9:57am