At $180 million, 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands is officially the highest-grossing film in the 38-year-old franchise. This weekend, it surpassed the reported global box office of the previous winner of the series, Alien vs. Predator from 2004 ($177.4 million).
Now, pay attention: the Danny Trachtenberg-directed sequel officially surpassed AVP in its reported gross, which is why we’re announcing this now. The average person will evaluate and perceive the movie in this manner when they research it. Recognize that on November 23, Disney declared Predator: Badlands to be the top earning movie in the franchise (as reported by Nancy Tartaglione of Deadline), based on a likes-for-likes foreign exchange comparison with the original. Recognize that like-for-like comparisons are used to evaluate the worldwide box office. During the first weekend of November, the seventh Predator film had the best opening in the franchise, grossing $80 million worldwide ($40 million domestically). After a terrible October, the start saw a boost at the box office in the fall. Last weekend, we revealed that Badlands led the franchise domestically at $85 million, surpassing AVP’s $80.2 million final. Badlands is around $92 million, although AVP’s international reported final is $97.1 million.
The Predator franchise, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and was directed by John McTiernan in 1987, has been revitalized by Trachtenberg. At the time, the film was a career high for Schwarzenegger, grossing $59.7 million at the US summer box office. Prey, a Predator film directed by Trachtenberg, was released on Hulu during COVID-19. Even though the first “Predator” movie came out in 1987, many still recall Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Schaefer as the franchise’s most iconic human character. Dutch’s victorious comeback to the series has long been a fantasy of viewers, and it may finally come to pass. Check out the video above to see our predictions about Dutch’s return to “Predator.”
Since killing the Yautja, reaching the helicopter, and leaving the jungle at the conclusion of John McTiernan’s film “Predator,” Dutch has gone missing. But in the extended conclusion of the daring animated movie “Predator: Killer of Killers” from 2025, it is revealed that Dutch has been cryogenically frozen in a chamber with Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) from “Predator 2.” Adding more credence to the belief that Dutch is coming back is the fact that “Predator: Killer of Killers” co-director Dan Trachtenberg revealed at the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con International (via Deadline) that he got Schwarzenegger’s permission to use the character’s likeness and has further plans for the character. How he returns, though, remains to be seen, since he didn’t form a part of “Predator: Badlands.” As one of the stalwarts of the “Predator” franchise, there’s no shortage of fans who want to see Arnold Schwarzenegger flex and return as Dutch Schaefer. “Predator: Badlands” producer Ben Rosenblatt confirmed it isn’t only the fans who want Schwarzenegger back, but everyone involved in the franchise too — and they have reached out to him for conversations about In November 2025, Rosenblatt told Deadline, “So, he’s been really wonderful,” regarding his encounter with Schwarzenegger. “Dan [Trachtenberg] and Arnold had already met a few times. From what I understand, he has been genuinely interested in what we’re doing and is a huge fan of what we’ve done thus far.” “Everyone hopes to find a way to make Dutch’s return to the series possible,” Rosenblatt continued.

Schwarzenegger has previously expressed disapproval of the “Predator” sequels, referring to them as “stupid movies” in a 2015 Q&A session (via The Hollywood Reporter). However, he seems to support Trachtenberg’s particular vision for the franchise, as well as what he may have in store for Dutch. Under Disney’s management, the “Alien” and “Predator” properties are currently thriving. Apart from successful big-screen productions like “Alien: Romulus” and “Predator: Badlands,” the properties have also earned positive reviews for their small-screen releases, such as the animated picture “Predator: Killer of Killers” and “Alien: Earth,” the first TV series in the franchise. There has even been some recent crossover between these universes, which raises the question of whether “Alien: Earth” may eventually include a “Predator” crossover.

Although we are aware that FX and Hulu are formally proceeding with “Alien: Earth” season 2, not much is known about the upcoming episodes of the series. Therefore, when Noah Hawley, the creator of the series, made an appearance as a guest on the “SmartLess” podcast, Additionally, a sequel to “Alien: Romulus” is being developed, though it’s unknown how it would relate to Trachtenberg’s work on “Predator.” All of this to say, there is ample opportunity for an eventual full-blown crossover. Since Hawley is mostly playing in his own sandbox and filling in the blanks prior to the events of the first “Alien” movie, it just won’t happen on the TV side of things.

Hawley stated that he had spoken with Trachtenberg and “Romulus” director Fede Álvarez in an August interview with GamesRadar. But it appears it’s just to make sure they’re not going over the same ground (rather than creating a crossover that they’re all working toward): Marvel has maximized its Predator publication rights over the last few years. On the one hand, it has attempted to incorporate the Yautja into the Marvel Universe with a number of brutal, R-rated miniseries that pit the lethal creature against Marvel’s greatest heroes. It has also produced some excellent new stand-alone Predator adventures.

Predator: The latter includes bloodshed. Fans of Predator would gladly sign up for a movie adaptation of the story because of its fantastic premise. Marvel’s official synopsis is as follows: This is the ideal sequel for people who are obsessed with the Yautja following Predator: Badlands. It resembles a cross between Fight Club and Predator.

Bloodshed seems like both fresh terrain and a return to form for the Predator brand, which has changed dramatically over the years. Bloodshed offers the reverse, placing the Yautja in a more grounded environment and circumstance, while the franchise has increasingly embraced the sci-fi aspect of its sci-fi action beginnings. Anticipate typically graphic outcomes.