‘Predator: Badlands’ Outgrosses Elle Fanning’s ‘A Complete Unknown’ as Her Highest Grossing Movie of the Decade

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The latest installment in the Predator series has been a major success, quickly surpassing previous films since the original 1987 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Director Dan Trachtenberg’s fresh approach practically ensures more Predator movies—and a more promising crossover with the Alien franchise than we saw in the 2000s. For the lead actress, this film is now her most commercially successful movie of the last ten years.

In 2024, Sadie Fanning acted alongside Timothée Chalamet in the Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown. The film received very positive reviews and earned $140 million in theaters, with 95% of audiences enjoying it. Interestingly, Predator: Badlands also has a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and even a slightly better critic score (85% versus 82% for the Dylan film). Now, Predator: Badlands has surpassed the Dylan biopic financially, earning $141 million.

Dakota Fanning began her acting career at the age of two in the 2001 film I Am Sam, and quickly became a prolific actress, appearing in several movies each year for the next twenty years. She starred in major hits like Maleficent alongside Angelina Jolie and the sci-fi adventure Super 8. After a brief pause in 2020, Fanning returned to the screen with A Complete Unknown, followed by Badlands. Her next role will be as Effie Trinket in the upcoming film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

Elle Fanning’s ‘Predator: Badlands’ Character Connects to the ‘Alien’ Franchise


20th Century Studios

After Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey successfully revived the Alien franchise – often considered a counterpart to other 1980s sci-fi hits – fans started to feel optimistic about Disney’s purchase of both Alien and Predator through the Fox merger.

In Predator: Badlands, director Trachtenberg takes a surprising approach by making the young Predator the protagonist. This isn’t his only innovative idea; the film also stars Elle Fanning playing two characters, Thia and Tessa, who are artificial beings created by Weyland-Yutani. This corporation is familiar to fans of the Alien franchise, having played a key role since James Cameron’s Aliens and continuing to appear in recent installments like Alien: Earth.

In the series, Fanning plays two characters. As Thia, she’s an ally to the young Predator named Dek, helping him survive the dangers around him. She’s a synthetic, meaning she’s artificial and has a troubled past. Simultaneously, Fanning portrays Tessa, who works for the Weyland-Yutani corporation and is tasked with capturing Dek so the company can study him as part of their alien research.

While a full crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises isn’t officially confirmed, the success of both Alien: Romulus and Predator: Badlands has significantly increased the possibility. Although Fede Álvarez won’t be directing a Romulus sequel, director Shane Trachtenberg is likely to continue working on Predator films, which is exciting news for fans.

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2025-11-23 16:19