‘Aliens vs Predator’ Reboot Killed By ‘Badlands’ Box Office Flop?

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Despite initial excitement and talk of a larger franchise, Predator: Badlands isn’t performing well in theaters. This could mean plans for a potential Aliens vs Predator reboot have been quietly canceled before any real progress was made.

As we previously shared, the movie Badlands is expected to lose $60 million or more after performing poorly in theaters. Even with a history of successful films and the return of director Dan Trachtenberg (who made Prey), the movie didn’t make enough money.

And that might not just be the end of Badlands — it could be the end of AVP before it began.

Badlands vs AVP: The Numbers Don’t Lie

Several sources reported that Badlands had the biggest opening weekend of any Predator film, including Aliens, but that comparison isn’t accurate when you account for changes in ticket prices over time.

As of Sunday, Badlands had earned only $177,597,870 worldwide, barely surpassing the $177,427,090 grossed by Aliens vs Predator in 2004.

But that AVP number was in 2004 dollars.

If adjusted for today’s money, AVP would have made over $305 million – almost twice as much as Badlands has earned so far. The first Arnold Schwarzenegger movie also grossed over $280 million, despite limited international distribution and no release in China.

The movie Badlands needs to earn about $260 million to cover its costs. Since it likely won’t reach that amount, Disney will probably skip future theatrical releases and release new films directly on streaming services instead.

Hawley Confirms: No Yautja in Alien: Earth

Fans hoping to see the Predator crossover with the Alien universe will be disappointed. Noah Hawley, the creator of FX’s Alien: Earth (which has been picked up for a second season), has confirmed that the Predator won’t be appearing in the show, even though both franchises share the Weyland-Yutani corporation.

During an appearance on the Smartless podcast, Hawley discussed the potential for a new Predator movie when asked about it.

I’m not involved with the show, at least not right now. Dan Trachtenberg, the director of Prey and Badlands, is handling that – and I really enjoyed Prey! He seems to have a clear vision for the franchise. I’ve only met him briefly, and we haven’t discussed any collaboration on it, so it’s not something I’m currently planning to do.

This news effectively ends hopes that Alien: Earth and Badlands were leading to a connected Alien vs. Predator universe, despite earlier rumors that Disney was considering such a project.

Honestly, with Badlands not doing so well at the box office, I don’t think the studio is going to take a chance on a bigger, more daring sequel to AVP anytime soon. It’s a shame, but commercial success really dictates these things, you know?

You can read where Badlands went wrong here.

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2025-12-08 01:02