Disney’s 2 Upcoming Predator Movies Are The Key To Set A Massive Box Office Record After 37 Years

Disney has two new Predator movies in development, which logically should combine to help the franchise pass a certain milestone. The Predator movie franchise has always been a strange one. The first entry is considered a solid gold classic (as it should), but many of the follow-ups struggled to match its success. Each subsequent outing followed new characters, and each teased a direct sequel that never happened. Hulu exclusive Prey appears to have finally broken that trend, as the prequel received both record viewing numbers and critical acclaim; naturally, Prey 2 is in the works.

After decades of trying to find its footing, the Predator franchise appears to be finally embracing an anthology approach. In early February 2024, it was confirmed that Preydirector Dan Trachtenberg was returning to helm a sequel dubbed Badlands, which has no connection to Prey 2. Instead, Badlands will be set in the future, and like Prey before it, will feature a female protagonist. While it’s unknown if Badlands will debut in theaters, given the success that greeted Prey, this almost feels like a natural upgrade.

Prey 2 & Badlands Could Finally Make Predator A $1 Billion Movie Franchise

Prey

Director

Dan Trachtenberg

Release Date

August 5, 2022

Distributor(s)

Hulu

Cast

Dane DiLiegro , Michelle Thrush , Julian Black Antelope , Stormee Kipp , Amber Midthunder , Dakota Beavers

Budget

$65 million

has always been compared to the Alien franchise, though it’s often found lacking in terms of critical and commercial success. To date, the Alien films have collectively grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide (via The Numbers), across the span of eight installments. On the flipside, the Predator movies have made over $741 million (via The Numbers), which includes the Alien Vs Predator duology.

Of course, breaking box office thresholds shouldn’t be taken as the mark of quality for any series. Even lesser-regarded entries like Predator 2 or Predators are a lot of fun regardless of their financial tallies. That said, it would be nice to see such a long-running series breaking this record as a clear sign Predator is on the right track.

Disney Must Change Predators’ Release Strategy To Break Its Box Office Milestone

Badlands and Prey 2 can’t be Hulu exclusives

Many critics view Disney’s decision to make Prey a Hulu exclusive as a mistake considering the response it received. Some believe it would have been a runaway success in theaters, which must surely inform the future of the franchise. Prey is easily the most well-received outing since the 1987 original, so it would be foolish for the next two sequels to go straight to Hulu too. If the Predator franchise is to pass the $1 billion threshold, then Badlands and Prey 2 need to go to theaters to make that happen.

Following the underperformance of Shane Black’s The Predator, Disney seemed to view the franchise as somewhat niche, which might explain Prey’s Hulu release. Now that the latter proved beyond any doubt that audiences want more from the sci-fi saga, theatrical pushes for Prey 2 and Badlands make perfect sense; at the very least, one of them needs to hit the big screen. Time will tell, of course, but the future of the Predator franchise is looking quite hopeful.

Source: The Numbers, The Numbers

Predator

Predator is an action sci-fi franchise created by Jim and John Thomas, beginning with the original film released in 1987. The franchise follows a warrior alien race known as the Yautja who travel the far reaches of space looking for worthy prey to hunt, constantly bringing them to Earth due to the sheer amount of conflict harbored on it. The series has spun off into comic books and animated features and has even enjoyed several crossover events via film and video games with the Aliens franchise.

Created by

Jim Thomas , John Thomas

First Film

Predator