Predator: Badlands Record-Breaking Budget Revealed

Predator: Badlands has had its budget revealed, and it’s a record-breaking number compared to the sci-fi franchise’s other movies. The story of Predator: Badlands is taking the franchise places it’s never been before, focusing on Dek, an outcast young Predator hunting a creature that’s impossible to kill. The movie takes place on an alien planet, featuring various inhuman threats.

Now, Variety has released a report confirming Predator: Badlands has a production budget of $105 million. This makes the latest film the most expensive movie in the franchise. The sci-fi action thriller is expected to make $60 million worldwide during its opening weekend, roughly half of the reported budget, which doesn’t include cost of advertising.

The reported budget for Predator: Badlands beats out the previous record-holder for most expensive Predator movie, which was 2018’s The Predator at $88 million. It’s also the most expensive movie in the franchise directed by David Trachtenberg, whose other installments include 2022’s Prey ($65 million) and 2025’s Predator: Killer of Killers ($50 million).

Given how positive reviews for Predator: Badlands have been, it seems to have been money well spent so far. As of writing, the movie holds a Certified Fresh 90% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 80 critic reviews. The $60 million expectations for its opening weekend are also on the low end of what could become $68 million in earnings worldwide.

While it’s unclear how much the film’s marketing was, a good rule of thumb is that, for a movie to break even, it needs to make double its budget. This means Predator: Badlands could need as much as $210 million at the box office before it can start turning a profit. Luckily, good word of mouth may help increase its chances.

The film also benefits from being the first PG-13 Predator movie in the franchise. This opens it up to a wider market in contrast to if it had been rated R. Its rating could help bolster its audience, thus making its larger budget not only justified, but easy to earn back through its global theatrical performance.

With the movie boasting such a massive budget, it seems like Predator: Badlands is going to be a major risk for the franchise. Luckily, this pivot toward a sci-fi adventure seems to have convinced critics of how well the series can evolve in various ways. If the movie performs well, it could lead to more movies with equally high budgets.

Release Date

November 5, 2025

Runtime

107 minutes

Director

Dan Trachtenberg

Writers

Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, John Thomas, Jim Thomas

Producers

Brent O’Connor, John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt

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  Elle Fanning

  Thia / Tessa

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  Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi

  Dek / Father