Final numbers are in: Predator: Badlands made $184.2 million against a $105 million budget!

Predator: Badlands is being shoe-horned into the conversation as some kind of hit, but the numbers tell a very different story. The film had a huge reported production budget of about $105 million and opened with a respectable franchise-record ~$40 million domestically and ~$80 million worldwide in its first weekend thanks to that broad PG-13 rating and the Alien crossover hype — yet as it ends it’s theatrical run it only grossed around ~$184 million worldwide total against that $105 million cost, which doesn’t come close to the ~2.5× multiple studios usually need to actually turn a profit in theaters after marketing costs and exhibitor splits are factored inNow contrast that with what Alien: Romulus made for an estimated ~$80 million budget and pulling in over ~$350 million globally, proving that audiences will show up in massive numbers stand alone Alien film.  So while Romulus, with its tighter budget and R-rated edge, leveraged quality and lore into serious box office muscle, Badlands leaned hard into crossover bait and PG-13 outreach and still couldn’t even sniff comparable returns. It’s a joke to call Badlands a success. Alien: Romulus ran circles around it with a smaller budget, bigger haul, and proof that even a Predator/Alien Universe mash-up couldn’t save this flick from underperforming.

@hiveMUTHUR dude… exactly! been saying this exact thing for a long time… marketing hype around Badlands trying so hard to say it’s some major franchise success when it isn’t even a standalone Predator universe film. whether you like it or not it’s still a flop. thems just the facts.

Predator has never had as much star power and box office appeal as the Alien franchise, it's always been even more niche so I'm not surprised by the numbers comparison to Alien: Romulus at all. However, as a PREDATOR movie, it did do surprisingly well. Following an abysmal box office month right before its release, it fared well and given its competition shortly thereafter, it held its ground respectably. As a Predator movie, Badlands was a win. As a financial investment, it wasn't a goldmine.

@Chris Hear what you’re saying keeping it positive. With it being a crossover, power of Disney marketing, and PG13 rating we should have seen Alien/Predator fans bringing their family’s in crowds giving away money. The older gen should have brought their fams younger gen to get them hooked early. It’s really interesting seeing the lack of turnout. The audience should have been there. The studio was trying hard to get that audience and it should have snagged a decent crowd. Might be easy or obvious to assume that people are not looking for this crossover. Maybe they should have kept it pure Predator with no Alien universe and no PG13 crutch. Instead of mashing elements from a separate IP they should have focused on creating something entirely unique to the Predator universe. Should have been the route. Who knows maybe Alien: Earth dug Badlands a whole as well. Online chatter isn’t so great for Earth. That said I’m sure it will function better as a streamer. 

**whole

***hole.. ugh 🤦‍♂️