“Predator: Badlands” led all films in North American theaters with a debut of $40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, a better-than-expected result that slightly lifted the box office from its autumn doldrums.
On the heels of the worst box office weekend of 2025, “Predator: Badlands” faced little competition from new titles. Not accounting for inflation, the $40 million opening marked a new high for the dreadlocked alien franchise, besting the $38.3 million launch of 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator.”
“Predator: Badlands,” written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg, collected another $40 million overseas for the Walt Disney Co.’s 20th Century Studios. A key factor for “Predator: Badlands” is that, with a budget of $105 million, it’s also the most expensive “Predator” film.
“Badlands,” the eighth movie in the franchise that began with 1987’s “Predator,” offers a novel twist for the sci-fi series. On a remote planet, a young, outcast predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) encounters an android researcher (Elle Fanning), and the two set off on a journey. Reviews (85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been good. Moviegoers gave it an “A-” CinemaScore.
Good news had lately been hard to find in movie theaters. On Wednesday, AMC Theaters, the largest theater chain, posted a $298.2 million quarterly loss, partly due to a less-than-stellar summer season. But the fall has been worse. Last month was the lowest-grossing October in nearly three decades. Few awards hopefuls have made much of a mark.
This weekend, a new wave hit theaters. But despite plenty of star power, most fell flat.
“Die My Love,” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, launched with $2.8 million from 1,983 theaters. The film, directed by Lynne Ramsay, stars Lawrence as a new mother and Pattinson as her husband. Mubi plunked down a reported $24 million for “Die My Love” after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Audience slammed it with a “D+” CinemaScore.
“Christy,” starring Sydney Sweeney as the professional boxer Christy Martin, debuted with $1.3 million in 2,011 theaters. The film, the first one distributed by production company Black Bear Pictures, has earned Sweeney awards buzz since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Sony Pictures Classics’ “Nuremberg,” a post-World War II drama about the Nuremberg trials starring Rami Malek and Russell Crowe, managed to do a bit better. It opened with $4.1 million in 1,802 theaters.
It was slightly edged by the best performer of the newcomers: “Sarah’s Oil.” The Amazon MGM release opened with $4.5 million from 2,410 locations. It stars Naya Desir-Johnson as a young Black girl in the early 1900s who learns that her Oklahoma land allotment is rich with oil. “Sarah’s Oil” scored a rare “A+” CinemaScore from ticket buyers.
Arguably the most promising of the prospective awards movies to open in theaters over the weekend was Neon’s “Sentimental Value.” The film, a prize-winner at Cannes, directed by Norwegian-Danish filmmaker Joachim Trier, has been tabbed as a major Oscar contender this year. The family drama’s cast includes Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and, in her second movie of the weekend, Elle Fanning. It opened in four theaters with $200,000, giving it a $50,000 per-screen average. That’s the third best of the year.
The debut of “Predator: Badlands” sealed the Walt Disney Co.’s fourth straight year of $4 billion in worldwide ticket sales. It also broke a short streak of disappointments for the studio, including “Tron: Ares” and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” With potentially two of the biggest box-office hits of the year still to come in “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Disney is poised to surpass $5 billion.
