After early buzz and franchise hype, Predator: Badlands is now facing the brutal reality of the box office. And with it, the rumored Aliens vs Predator reboot might have been silently shelved before it ever got off the ground.
As we’ve reported, Badlands is currently on track to lose $60 million or more following its disappointing theatrical run. Despite franchise history and the return of director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey), the film failed to deliver financially.
And that might not just be the end of Badlands — it could be the end of AVP before it began.
Badlands vs AVP: The Numbers Don’t Lie
Some outlets claimed Badlands pulled in the highest box office for a Predator movie, even counting Aliens, but that’s misleading when you adjust for inflation.
As of Sunday, Badlands has only made $177,597,870 globally — just slightly above the $177,427,090 made by 2004’s Aliens vs Predator.
But that AVP number was in 2004 dollars.
Adjusted for inflation, AVP’s take today would be over $305 million — nearly double Badlands’ current haul. The original Arnold Schwarzenegger movie also hauled in over $280 million, and that’s with barely an international box office and no China release.
Badlands also need to hit around $260 million just to break even. That’s a loss Disney will have to account for, which we guess also means no more theatrical releases and straight back to streaming.
Hawley Confirms: No Yautja in Alien: Earth
Fueling the disappointment for fans hoping for a new AVP era, Alien: Earth creator Noah Hawley has confirmed there will be no Predator appearances in his FX series — which has been renewed for Season 2 — despite the shared Weyland-Yutani connection.
Speaking on the Smartless podcast, Hawley said when asked about the possibility of a Predator appearance:
“No, not onto the show, I don’t think. I think Dan Trachtenberg, who made Prey and has made the Badlands movie — you know, I loved Prey. I think he’s doing a great job with that franchise. He clearly has a plan there. I’ve met Dan once, we’re not kind of coordinating any of that stuff. So, it’s not really my plan to do it.”
That alone pours cold water on theories that Alien: Earth and Badlands were building toward a shared AVP universe, something rumors had previously suggested Disney was quietly working on.
But now that Badlands has underperformed, it gives executives little reason to greenlight a more ambitious AVP follow-up.
