The Predatorhas become a global hit for Netflix six years after its release. Hitting theaters in 2018, the fourth installment in the popularPredatorfranchise was directed by Shane Black with a script co-written by Black and Fred Dekker.The Predatorstars Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K. Brown, and Jacob Tremblay and tells the story of a team of ex-soldiers who set out to save Earth after a crew ofYautja aliensarrive. The film was made on an estimated budget of $88 million and earned a disappointing $160.5 million worldwide, in addition to earning mostly negative reviews.
New data fromNetflixnow reveals thatThe Predatorranks as the second most popular title on the service globally for the week of October 7 through October 13. The film racked up an impressive 23.3 million hours viewed and 12.9 million views in total. Though thePredatormovie beats titles likeLonely Planet(2024) andBad Boys: Ride or Die(2024), it falls short of the global leader,The Menendez Brothers(2024), a documentary on the same subject as their hit crime drama seriesMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Check out the full top 10 chart below:
Total Views (in millions)
1
22.7
2
12.9
3
11
4
Bad Boys: Ride or Die(2024)
10.4
5
6.9
6
6.2
7
4.8
8
4.1
9
3.8
10
3.5
Why You Should Watch The Predator
The Shane Black Film Has Some Redeeming Qualities
The Predatorcurrently has a lackluster critics' score of 34% onRotten Tomatoes, and the audience score is even worse at 32%. These scores don’t mean, however, that the film is without some strengths.Black’s signature sense of dark humor and wit occasionally shine through, and there are some moments of genuine humor throughout (even though there are plenty of jokes that miss the mark). The action is a mixed bag overall, but there is some violence reminiscent of the 1987originalPredatormovie, which isn’t surprising given that Black appeared in that film as Hawkins.
Some of the performances are also worth celebrating, especially Brown’s. Brown plays Traeger in the film and serves as an antagonistic figure for most of the runtime, but he gives the character a charisma and coolness that actually makes him a joy to watch. Holbrook, too, gets some standout moments as Quinn McKenna, and it’s interesting to see him taking on more of a heroic role when he’s probably best known to many viewers for his villainous roles, particularly in the James Mangold moviesLogan(2017) andIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny(2023).
How The Predator Compares To The Other Movies In The Franchise
The 2018 Movie Was Doomed By Its Budget
While the 2018 installment is the second lowest-rated installment in the flagship franchise, ahead of the original 1990 sequel, it is actuallythe highest-grossing of all five moviesby more than $30 million. The biggest issue for the movie’s success was its huge budget. Because movies typically need to earn at least two and a half times their budget, its break-even point was likely somewhere around $220 million, which is why it was still considered a disappointment. Below, see how it compares, both critically and commercially, to the previousPredatormovies, except the two crossovers with theAlienfranchise:
80%
~$18 million
$98.3 million
30%
$30 million
$57.1 million
65%
$40 million
$127.2 million
34%
$88 million
$160.5 million
94%
$65 million
N/A
The 2022 prequelPreywas released directly to streaming, so it can’t be weighed against the previous installment in terms of box office. However, the raw numbers show that, just like its streaming release, there was strong interest inThe Predatorwhen it first debuted, just not enough to justify it having the highest budget of the franchise to that point, more than doubling the price tag of the 2010 installment, which was previously the most costly. Because that movie grossed just over $100 million, it was perhapsunduly risky to make the Shane Black movie so expensive.
Our Take On The Predator’s Streaming Success
A Movie’s Legacy Can Evolve Over Time
Trachtenberg is set to return to thePredatorfranchise withBadlandsstarring Elle Fanning, with the story reportedly set to take the action into the future.
There are elements ofThe Predatorworth celebrating, butthe movie just doesn’t hang together as a cohesive whole, and at least some of this is seemingly due to meddling from the studio, at least according to Dekker. In any case, the film is clearly now finding its audience, and it remains an interesting take on the iconic action franchise.
The Predator
Cast
The Predator follows a group of ex-soldiers and a scientist who band together to battle a new evolution of lethal alien Predators. As these hunters descend upon Earth, the team must fight to prevent humanity’s extinction.
