Shane Black's The Predator opened below previous franchise installment Predators at the box office this week. The 1987 original is considered a classic of its genre, but despite its popularity, it was never able to spawn a highly-lucrative series. The first Alien vs. Predator is actually the property's highest-grossing film, unadjusted for inflation ($80.2 million). 1990's Predator 2 earned only $30.6 million domestically, and Predators made $52 million. Both of those figures are below the haul of Predator, which made $59.7 million in its run.

Black, who had a role in that first Predator movie, hoped to bring the brand back stronger than ever by making a big-scale installment that would be an event movie. Fox was certainly hoping he was successful in that goal, seeing that they were looking to make a couple of sequels to The Predator. But now that the box office results are in, they may have to reconsider their plans.

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According to Box Office MojoThe Predator grossed $24 million in its first three days. That's actually slightly less than Predators, which earned $24.7 million when it debuted. Seeing that eight years of ticket price spikes separate the two movies, these results aren't exactly encouraging.

Boyd Holbrook in The Predator

It's important to note this isn't a death knell for The Predator, as it's performed solidly overseas. The global total currently stands at $54.7 million, and the film cost "just" $88 million to make (a small price tag compared to other would-be blockbusters). The Predator could very well end up being a profitable endeavor for Fox, especially since it won't face much in the way of competition the next few weeks. Sony's Venom is projected to break October records when it premieres, but The Predator still has a nice cushion to pad its total and become a minor success. Of course, the film's mixed critical reception suggests it won't have very strong legs, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. Right now, Fox shouldn't bank too heavily on The Predator having a future, but time will tell.

This week's other new releases, A Simple Favor and White Boy Rick, came in third and fourth respectively. The former earned $16 million, while the latter came in with $8.8 million. Neither came into theaters with much fan fare or awards buzz, but they were still able to do relatively well with their target demographic, taking advantage of a lull in the movie release schedule. Last week's champion, The Nun, dropped 66.2 percent, but still held on for second place with $18.2 million. In fifth was Crazy Rich Asians, making $8.7 million in its fifth weekend. The hit rom-com is now up to $149.5 million, and it ranks eleventh on the 2018 charts.

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Source: Box Office Mojo