‘The Predator’ box office: Sci-fi sequel disappoints with $10.5M Friday

20th Century Fox’s The Predator was the top movie on Friday, ending a five-week rein for Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. The Shane Black-directed and Fred Dekker-penned sequel to the first three Predator movies (sans any Alien involvement) earned $10.45 million on Friday, including $2.5m in Thursday previews. That compares to the $10.4m Friday of 2010’s Predators ($12.5m adjusted for inflation) and the $9.5m opening Tuesday (Christmas Day) of Alien vs. Predator: Requiem ($12.8m adjusted for inflation). But those two spin-offs/sequels cost around $40m to produce while this installment cost $88m. In this case, the budget is what may be what breaks the movie.