Predator Director Bails On Disney, Signs With Paramount After ‘Badlands’ Flop

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As I’ve said before, the future of the Predator movies at Disney is now uncertain because Badlands didn’t perform well in theaters.

Director Dan Trachtenberg has left Disney and is now working with Paramount.

Even though his movie Predator: Badlands wasn’t a success, director Dan Trachtenberg has signed a deal with Paramount Pictures to develop new projects for the next three years.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Dan Trachtenberg and his collaborator Ben Rosenblatt have signed a deal with Paramount Pictures to develop, direct, and produce new movies. This partnership brings Trachtenberg back to Paramount, where he first gained recognition with the 2016 film 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Predator: Badlands Was Not a Box Office Hit

Just to clarify, despite what The Hollywood Reporter claimed, Predator: Badlands wasn’t a hit and certainly wasn’t the most financially successful film in the 38-year history of the Predator series.

The film ended its theatrical run with:

  • Domestic: $91,083,631
  • International: $93,410,824
  • Worldwide: $184,494,455

After factoring in its cost to make, advertise, and distribute, the movie probably lost around $80 million in theaters. This isn’t just a flop—it’s a major setback that could end any plans for sequels.

It’s Not the Top-Grossing Predator Movie – Not Even Close

THR and many outlets tried spinning Badlands as a franchise high point. The numbers say otherwise.

When accounting for ticket price increases over time, several earlier Predator and Alien vs. Predator movies actually earned significantly more money than this one.

  • Alien vs. Predator (2004): $177.4M → $437M today
  • Predator (1987): $98.2M → $278M today (domestic alone = $169M today)
  • AVP: Requiem (2007): $130.3M → $202M today
  • The Predator (2018): $160.5M → $205M today
  • Predators (2010): $127.2M → $187M today

Badlands isn’t performing as well as other franchises, ranking just outside the top five when accounting for inflation. Both its total earnings and adjusted figures are lower than expected.

Future of the Franchise in Question

There’s currently no Badlands sequel or new Predator movie in the works at Disney.

So, it looks like Badlands just didn’t catch on with audiences, either here or overseas. As a result, Disney’s probably going to pull it from theaters and put it straight onto Disney+ – which, honestly, is becoming a pretty common move for films that don’t perform well in cinemas.

The long-awaited Aliens vs. Predator project seems to have been cancelled, and that makes sense now that director Adam Trachtenberg has left Disney.

Trachtenberg also directed Predator: Prey and the Predator: Killer of Killers anime.

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2026-02-06 02:01