Predator: Badlands arrives in theaters tomorrow afternoon, and as we first pointed out on SFFGazette.com, the movie has broken an interesting Rotten Tomatoes record. Love or hate the review aggregator, it's still a deciding factor for many people while deciding whether it's worth buying a ticket to see a new movie.
The movie's score continues to fluctuate (today, it's moved from 89% to 90% and is now down to 88%), but that "Certified Fresh" 88% score makes it the best-reviewed theatrically released Predator movie (Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers premiered on Hulu).
It's another impressive accolade for director Dan Trachtenberg, the filmmaker many fans have credited with saving the sci-fi franchise.
As for whether this will translate to box office revenue, the jury is out. Current tracking points to Predator: Badlands opening in North America between $25 million - $30 million. With an expected $35 million - $38 million international haul, that's a global start of $60 million - $68 million.
20th Century Studios reportedly spent $105 million to produce the movie without marketing expenses, so it's likely to take weeks for this one to reach profitability, if indeed it ever does. The Predator franchise has never been a big money maker, though Badlands does stand a chance of topping Predators and The Predator, both of which bowed to $24 million.
The highest-grossing title is Alien vs. Predator with $38 million. Whether that crossover should be counted is up for debate, as it obviously had the benefit of featuring Xenomorphs, too. Providing Predator: Badlands and the next Alien movies are both successful, chances are we'll eventually get another clash between the two iconic alien species.
Here's how the Predator franchise stacks up on Rotten Tomatoes:
Predator: Killer of Killers - 95%
Prey - 94%
Predator: Badlands - 88%
Predator - 65%
Predators - 65%
Predator 2 - 36%
The Predator - 34%
Alien vs Predator - 21%
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - 12%
Predator: Badlands, which stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator (Schuster-Koloamatangi), outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Dan Trachtenberg directs and produces Predator: Badlands alongside John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt, and Brent O’Connor.
Predator: Badlands opens exclusively in movie theaters on November 7 in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX, and premium screens everywhere.