Well, this is a first for Predator. Dan Trachtenberg just landed the franchise its best-ever CinemaScore with Predator: Badlands, and he did it with a movie starring Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Koloamatangi. That A- from opening-night audiences is a legit milestone for a series that usually tops out in the B range. Trachtenberg is now three-for-three on record-setting swings with his Predator projects.
Trachtenberg’s hat trick
- Prey (2022): Trachtenberg’s reset put the Yautja in the 1700s against a Comanche warrior, and it clicked. At 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s still the highest-rated live-action Predator title.
- Predator: Killer of Killers: His animated entry on Hulu sits at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is the best score in the franchise overall.
- Predator: Badlands: Now we’ve got the best audience grade the series has ever seen, with an A- CinemaScore. For a franchise that has historically lived between Bs and Cs with CinemaScore, that’s a real turn.
Where Badlands lands in the franchise scorecard
If you like numbers, here’s the quick context. The original Predator is at 64% on Rotten Tomatoes with a B+ CinemaScore. Predator 2 took a hit critically (36%) but still held a B+. Predators sits at 65% with a C+. 2018’s The Predator has 34% and a C+. Prey didn’t get a CinemaScore because it debuted on streaming, but again, it’s at 94% with critics. Trachtenberg’s new one, Badlands, is at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and scored that A- with audiences.
Yes, Badlands ties into Alien (in a way that actually makes sense)
If you caught the trailer, you might have noticed a blink-and-you-miss-it detail: the Weyland-Yutani logo on Elle Fanning’s character, Thia. That’s the famously shady corporation from the Alien films. In Badlands, Thia is in rough shape and ends up aligned with Dek, a Yautja who has been kicked out of his clan for being weak. That pairing is its own thing, but the movie sprinkles in more nods to the Alien mythos, and even gives James Cameron a special thanks in the end credits.
The result doesn’t play like a cheap crossover tease. Badlands is a stand-alone story first, with connective tissue that actually fits. But, yes, the door is now cracked open for future projects that could bring the two universes closer.
The bottom line
No spoilers here, but if you’ve stuck with this franchise through its ups and downs, Badlands is a ride. It’s also the first time audiences collectively graded a Predator movie this high on opening night. Took long enough.
Predator: Badlands is in theaters now in the US.