A 39-Year-Old Sci-Fi Franchise Is Taking Over The World On Disney+

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Disney has a long history of creating popular franchises, and its streaming service, Disney+, gives subscribers worldwide immediate access to many of them. It’s now typical for Disney’s most well-known properties, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Avatar films, and the TRON series, to be major attractions on the platform.

A popular sci-fi series, originally launched 39 years ago, has become a global phenomenon thanks to Disney+. It now includes seven films and boasts a stellar cast featuring actors like Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins, Thomas Jane, and Bill Paxton, and is experiencing a surge in popularity with streaming audiences.

Predator Has The Top 2 Movies On Disney+ Worldwide

When Disney bought 20th Century Studios in 2019, they also gained ownership of the Predator movie series, originally starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Disney quickly began developing new Predator films, and since 2022, director Dan Trachtenberg has released three: Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Predator: Badlands.

According to streaming data from FlixPatrol, the Predator franchise currently has the top two most-watched movies on Disney+ globally. Predator: Badlands is number one, followed closely by Prey. Both films are performing exceptionally well, significantly outpacing the rest of the top 10 titles, which include Ella McCay, Despicable Me 2, The Devil Wears Prada, The Muppet Show, The Princess and the Frog, Avatar: The Way of Water, Rio, and Despicable Me.

It’s no surprise that Predator: Badlands is so popular – it was just released on Disney+ and Hulu a few days ago and quickly became the most-watched film on those platforms worldwide. Badlands continues to be the top movie in most countries, including the US, UK, Spain, Mexico, and Brazil.

The popularity of Prey is closely linked to Badlands. Since the 2022 prequel has been on Disney+ for a while, viewers familiar with Badlands are now discovering it, propelling Prey into the top 10. Disney+ also actively recommends Prey to people watching or finishing Badlands.

I’m noticing a real trend on Disney+ – a lot of people are revisiting the Predator franchise. It seems my fellow viewers are happily diving back into that universe, and honestly, I get it! It’s a classic for a reason, and it’s cool to see so many people revisiting (or discovering!) those films.

Why Predator: Badlands & Prey Are Both Worth Watching

Seriously, if you haven’t checked out Predator: Badlands and Prey yet, you really need to! Both movies are fantastic, and what I love is they each do something totally different with the Predator universe. It proves there’s still so much potential for cool stories in that world.

Predator: Badlands takes a unique approach by focusing on the Yautja, the iconic alien hunters, as the main characters. The story centers on Dek, a young Yautja, who tries to defeat an seemingly invincible creature to earn his father’s respect. During his hunt on a new planet, he encounters Thia, a synthetic human created by Weyland-Yutani. The comic offers a compelling narrative, exciting action, and surprisingly, a more lighthearted feel than previous installments, though it still features plenty of intense violence.

The film Prey is set in the 1700s and follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche woman striving to become a respected warrior. Her journey is compelling and emotionally resonant. By pitting a technologically advanced alien hunter against this realistic, grounded story, Prey definitively showed that the Predator franchise is capable of far more than previous installments.

Since both Predator movies are currently very popular on Disney+, now is a great time to finally watch them and see what everyone’s been talking about.

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2026-02-17 22:38