If the $uccess of Top Gun: Maverick taught us anything, it’s that people like crowd-pleasing action films. So it’s a real shame that Prey, the latest (and very good) installment in the Predator franchise, didn’t receive a theatrical release and instead went straight to streaming. (It’s also a shame that studios are rarely willing to give a chance for movies with non-white — let alone non-white female — protagonists to succeed at the box office, but that’s a depressing conversation for another day.)
Hulu isn’t complaining about Prey coming direct to streaming, however.
On Tuesday, Disney said the film scored the No. 1 premiere on Hulu to date, including all film and TV series debuts. Additionally, the pic was the most watched film premiere on Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ under the Star Banner in all other territories, based on hours watched in the first three days of its release. Disney did not share total hours viewed, as Netflix does.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke to a “veteran box office analyst” who believes the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios made the right choice by putting Prey on streaming, “considering that the last film in the series, 2018’s The Predator, was a bust that tarnished the brand.” The analyst added, “They might have had a tough road to hoe if going theatrical.” There’s a difference between The Predator and Prey, however: The Predator is a bad movie; Prey is a good movie. Even if the good boy wasn’t so good.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
