Scarlett Johansson’s Controversial Sci-Fi Anime Movie Gets Overtaken by New Predator Hit at the Box Office

Scarlett Johansson’s Controversial Sci-Fi Anime Movie Gets Overtaken by New Predator Hit at the Box Office Scarlett Johansson on the red carpetImage via Marion Curtis/StarPix for Sony Pictures Classics/INSTARimages By  Rahul Malhotra Published 5 minutes ago Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema. 

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him). Sign in to your Collider account follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

The history of live-action anime remakes in Hollywood is spotty. Netflix'sOne Piece adaptation proved to be something of an outlier with some impressive reactions, but Cowboy Bebop and many others have all received underwhelming responses, with subsequent feature film anime remakes like Alita: Battle Angel and Ghost in the Shell also underperforming. The latter film, starring Scarlett Johansson in the lead role, was recently overtaken at the global box office by the genre's latest breakout hit, Predator: Badlands. The movie debuted to positive reviews and exceeded box office expectations. It's now chasing the coveted $200 million milestone globally.

Predator: Badlands is currently sitting at nearly $175 million at the worldwide box office, of which $85 million has come from domestic theaters. It remains to be seen whether the movie will hit the $100 million mark domestically and the $200 million mark worldwide before the end of its run. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the film opened to excellent reviews, and now seems to have settled at an 85% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads, "Director Dan Trachtenberg continues to take the Predator franchise in exciting new directions with Badlands, a rollicking adventure that transforms one of cinema's most iconic brutes into a hero worth rooting for." The film's $175 million haul puts it ahead of the $170 million lifetime haul of Ghost in the Shell.

'Ghost in the Shell' Was Slammed for Its Casting

Directed by Rupert Sanders, the cyberpunk film cost about the same as Predator: Badlands — a reported $110 million. What this means is that the new Predator movie absolutely needs to keep performing well at the box office to get a thumbs-up. Ideally, the film should target the $350 million lifetime global box office haul of Alien: Romulus. Ghost in the Shell opened to criticism for its perceived whitewashing of Asian characters, and is now sitting at a 43% score on RT, where the consensus reads, "Ghost in the Shell boasts cool visuals and a compelling central performance from Scarlett Johansson, but the end result lacks the magic of the movie's classic source material." The original anime film is considered a classic and has inspired the likes of James Cameron and the Wachowski sisters. You can watch Predator: Badlands in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Predator: Badlands

Like Follow Followed PG-13 Action Science Fiction Adventure Thriller 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 Franchise(s) Predator

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• Elle Fanning Thia / Tessa
• Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi Dek / Father

Genres Action, Science Fiction, Adventure, Thriller Powered by Expand Collapse

• Movie News
• Scarlett Johansson
• Predator: Badlands

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