Disney’s 94% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Sci-Fi Hit Officially Conquers Streaming

For years, fans of the Predator franchise had been alienated by the property they loved so dearly, until one of their own stepped in to save the day. The Predator universe had struggled to deliver a movie worthy of the original 1987 classic that kick-started the franchise, save for the 1990 sequel. Subsequent sequels often felt like subpar rehashes with little new to get excited about. Then came 2018, when Disney finally bought into Dan Trachtenberg's bold idea, partly inspired by Star Wars elements, to take the franchise in a completely different direction. It was a concept made into a story that served as a prequel to the original. It worked, and finally the franchise's long-lost glory was restored.

Trachtenberg's first Predator movie, Prey, was released straight to streaming in 2022 to major acclaim. It was a breath of fresh air for the franchise, but there was even better to come. Impressed by Prey's streaming performance, Disney opted to give its follow-up, Predator: Badlands, a theatrical release. Starring Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi in the leading roles, the movie became a resounding success and the highest-grossing entry in the franchise. While its $185 million box-office haul wasn't quite enough to make the movie break even, given its hefty $105 million budget, Badlands has continued to make up for that deficit through its strong performance on streaming and PVOD.

Since making its streaming debut in January 2026, Predator: Badlands has consistently been one of the better-performing titles across multiple platforms. For almost a year now, the movie has continued to chart among the most-watched titles in the US, UK, Europe, and across other markets around the world. The movie is available to stream on Disney+, while fans can also buy or rent it through digital storefronts including Amazon, Apple, and Google. It's currently charting across several of those platforms, but its biggest recent success has come on Prime Video, as well as on Apple TV's PVOD charts, where it is currently charting in no fewer than five European countries.

Is Dan Trachtenberg Leaving the 'Predator' Universe?

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With Predator: Badlands continuing to find an audience, fans are certainly eager to see what Trachtenberg has planned next. The filmmaker has already teased another movie that would serve as a sequel to Badlands, revealing that the idea was conceived alongside the projects that became Badlands and the animated Predator: Killer of Killers. However, his growing slate of projects could delay that return. Disney just recently announced Trachtenberg will tackle a live-action Sleeping Beauty adaptation, while he's also reportedly developing another movie at Paramount following his new deal with the studio. There's no telling where these new developments leave his commitment to the Badlands sequel. On the brighter side, though, Badlands' continued streaming and PVOD success could encourage Disney to invest again, and hopefully, a new film can officially become the next project on Trachtenberg's slate.