The new movie, Predator: Badlands, is a hit on streaming services. It’s become the most-watched movie premiere on Hulu since Dan Trachtenberg’s 2022 film Prey, attracting almost 9 million viewers globally in its first five days.
That’s the good headline.
The reality? Fans largely skipped it in theaters and waited to watch it at home.
Fans Waited Instead of Buying Tickets
Despite efforts to portray its theatrical release positively, Predator: Badlands simply didn’t do well in theaters.
As I’ve gone over many times, here are the final box office numbers:
- Domestic: $91,083,631
- International: $93,410,824
- Worldwide: $184,494,455
Once you consider how much it cost to make and market the movie, plus cuts to distribution, it probably lost around $80 million in theaters – a fact many promotional websites aren’t mentioning.
The initial viewership numbers on Hulu reveal a lot. Almost 9 million people watched the film in just five days, showing significant interest – but not enough to justify a theatrical release. Viewers were happy to watch Badlands as part of their existing Hulu subscription, similar to how they watched Prey, instead of going to a movie theater.
It Wasn’t a Franchise High Point
Despite the hype, some sources are calling the new film Badlands a peak for this 38-year-old series, but the box office numbers don’t support that claim.
Adjusted for inflation, several previous entries easily outperformed it:
- Alien vs. Predator (2004): $177.4M → $437M today
- Predator (1987): $98.2M → $278M today (domestic alone = $169M today)
- Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007): $130.3M → $202M today
- The Predator (2018): $160.5M → $205M today
- Predators (2010): $127.2M → $187M today
Despite being a popular film, Badlands hasn’t earned as much as other top franchises, both in initial box office numbers and when accounting for inflation.
The viewership numbers show that more people tuned in today than attended the Badlands concert. That’s simply the truth.
It’s clear this wasn’t the high point of the series. The lack of any news about a sequel really confirms that.
Predator Works Better on Streaming
The recent release on Hulu demonstrates a point I’ve made before: the Predator franchise seems to thrive more when it’s available for streaming.
Prey is said to be a streaming hit. Now Badlands performs better on Hulu after failing theatrically.
The pattern is clear. Audiences will show up for Disney Predator, just not in theaters.
Currently, this series feels better suited for streaming, where people can watch it as part of their subscription, rather than as a major movie theater release.
No Sequel in Development
There is also currently no Badlands sequel or new Predator movie in development at Disney.
Given the theatrical losses, that’s not surprising.
If the series continues, it’s more likely to appear on a streaming service than in expensive movie theaters.
Director Dan Trachtenberg also recently signed a first-look deal with Paramount.
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2026-02-19 07:32