Fox
Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Predator"
- "The Predator" may have topped the box office over the weekend, but it only made $24 million - far from a smash.
- Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told Business Insider that the movie would have made more money if Arnold Schwarzenegger had reprised his role from the 1987 original "Predator."
- "It could be sh-- but it would be enough where people would go see it," Bock said.
- Director Shane Black said that Schwarzenegger turned down a role in the film because it was "too small."
- Bock said the upcoming "Halloween" capitalized on the nostalgia factor that "The Predator" failed to do by bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis.
"The Predator" may have dethroned "The Nun" at the box office over the weekend, breaking Warner Bros.' five-week streak at the top in the process, but it was far from a smash.
"The Predator" made just $24 million in its opening weekend. According to Box Office Mojo, that's the worst for a live-action film opening in over 4,000 locations, a title previously held by last year's "The Mummy."
The film was shrouded in controversy in the week leading up to its release, as it was revealed that the studio Fox had deleted a scene that featured a registered sex offender and friend of director Shane Black's, who was included without the cast's knowledge.
It's unknown how this controversy affected audiences' interest in the movie. But Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told Business Insider that "The Predator" could have made more money if it had capitalized on the franchise's nostalgia, specifically if it brought back Arnold Schwarzenegger, who starred in the original 1987 "Predator."
"If Arnold was the lead, we'd be talking about a $50 million opening," Bock said. "It could be sh-- but it would be enough where people would go see it."
But Schwarzenegger turned down a role in the movie because he was offered too small of a part, according to Black. Black told Yahoo Movies UK that Fox wanted "something a bit fresh, that didn't rely solely on Arnold's reemergence, but they were open to the idea to the notion of having him in, in a smaller role."
When Black approached Schwarzenegger about the idea, Black said that Schwarzenegger told him "if I was featured more, yeah, but what you're suggesting is that you're creating this new thing and just using me to bless it. Look, I wish you luck, but that's too small a role for me."
Bock contrasted "The Predator" with the upcoming "Halloween," which he predicted will make a solid $50-60 million in its opening weekend.
"No doubt about it, because it's not only a franchise but then you add in [the studio] Blumhouse which knows how to construct a film and market it," Bock said. "And you're reaching into the past with Jamie Lee Curtis, it's the nostalgia factor that 'The Predator' completely missed."