UPDATE: “Predator: Badlands” roared into theaters with an estimated $15.6M on Friday across 3,725 North American locations, fueled largely by older audiences—57% male and 22% female. Despite its PG-13 rating, younger viewers were sparse, with just 21% under 25 and only 5% aged 13-17.
Early audience reactions are glowing: the film earned a 5-star rating and a 78% definite recommend on PostTrak, while now projected for a franchise-record opening of $37M and an A- CinemaScore—the best the series has ever seen.
EARLIER: It looks like $5M in previews for “Predator: Badlands.” The film might get a $30-$35M opening — that’s a record for the Predator franchise. The budget of ‘Badlands’ is reportedly $105M.
Just to compare, “Alien: Romulus,” which was another franchise reboot for 20th Century Studios under Disney, had $6.5M in previews going on to nab a $42M opening. Keep in mind, that movie was R-rated, and “Predator: Badlands” is a more audience friendly PG-13.
“Predator: Badlands” is being well-reviewed by critics — 71 on Metacritic and 86% on Rotten Tomatoes — and it’ll be interesting to see if positive word mouth comes out of audience screenings this weekend. This one might take some viewers aback as it’s the first Predator movie not to receive an R rating; Some reviews describe it as “heartfelt,” “tame,” and lacking “genuine slaughter.“