Tag: The Predator

Prey

STREAMING REVIEW:

Hulu;
Sci-Fi;
Rated ‘R’ for strong bloody violence.
Stars Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Stormee Kipp, Michelle Thrush, Julian Black Antelope, Stefany Mathias, Bennett Taylor, Mike Paterson, Nelson Leis.

Director Dan Trachtenberg’s “Predator” prequel brings the franchise formula back to basics, with the alien hunter this time terrorizing the North American plains of the early 18th century.

A “Predator” adventure by way of Apocalypto and The Revenant, the story focuses on a Comanche girl named Naru (Amber Midthunder) who is eager to prove herself as a warrior and hunter. She joins other members of her tribe in a hunting party that finds traces of the alien’s activity, but they initially think it’s just a mountain lion or bear.  

To be sure, the hunting party does encounter those animals, as does the predator, who finds the unvarnished wilderness to be a target-rich environment.

The film does a clever job turning back the technology of the Yautja (the name of the predator species) several hundred years. The aliens still have the ability to cloak and see infrared with laser-guided tracking, but they have projectile weapons instead of plasma canons and nukes.

There are subtle references to the previous “Predator” films but tonally it’s most similar to the 1987 original, which should please the franchise’s most ardent fans.

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Lionsgate’s ‘Hell Fest’ Only New Release to Crack Redbox Top 10

Lionsgate’s newly released Hell Fest is the only new release to make the Redbox charts for the week ended Jan. 13.

The slasher film,  about a group of teens who are stalked by a serial killer at a Halloween carnival, debuted at No. 9 on the Redbox kiosk chart, which tracks DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals at the company’s more than 40,000 red vending machines, and No. 10 on the Redbox On Demand chart, which tracks transactional video-on-demand (TVOD), both electronic sellthrough (EST) and transactional streaming.

Universal Pictures’ Night School once again scored a double win, remaining at No. 1 for the third consecutive week on the Redbox kiosk chart and the second week on the digital chart.

Venom, a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, remained at No. 2 on the kiosk chart but slipped to No. 4 on the digital chart.

Universal Pictures’ The House With a Clock in Its Walls, a family fantasy about a young boy who is sent to live with his uncle in a spooky old house, remained at No. 3 on the kiosk chart but slipped to No. 9 from No. 5 on the digital chart.

White Boy Rick, from Sony Pictures, moved up to No. 4 on the Redbox disc-rental chart after debuting at No. 7 the prior week.

Bowing at No. 5 was 20th Century Fox’s Bad Times at the El Royale, which became available to Redbox one week after its street date.

On the Redbox digital chart, Paramount’s Book Club, released back in August, reappeared in the top 10 at No. 2.

Bad Times at the El Royale was No. 3, with White Boy Rick rounding out the top five.

 

Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks, Week Ending January 13

  1. Night School
  2. Venom
  3. The House With a Clock in Its Walls
  4. White Boy Rick
  5. Bad Times at the El Royale
  6. The Equalizer 2
  7. The Predator
  8. Peppermint
  9. Hell Fest (new)
  10. Smallfoot

 

Top Digital, Redbox On Demand, Week Ending January 13

  1. Night School
  2. Book Club
  3. Bad Times at the El Royale
  4. Venom
  5. White Boy Rick
  6. A Simple Favor
  7. Peppermint
  8. The Equalizer 2
  9. The House With a Clock in Its Walls
  10. Hell Fest

 

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Kevin Hart-Starring ‘Night School’ Scores Double Win at Redbox

Universal Pictures’ Night School scored a double win at Redbox in the first week of the new year.

The Kevin Hart-starring comedy, which earned $77.3 million in North American theaters, remained at No. 1 for the second consecutive week on the Redbox kiosk chart, which tracks DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals at the company’s more than 40,000 red vending machines.

The film also knocked Sony Pictures’ Venom out of the No. 1 spot on the Redbox On Demand chart, which tracks transactional video-on-demand (TVOD), both electronic sellthrough (EST) and transactional streaming.

Venom, a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, was No. 2 on both charts.

Night School’s lingering popularity might be due in part to the controversy surrounding Hart, who in December was briefly tapped to host the 2019 Academy Awards. After being blasted for homophobic jokes and tweets he made more than eight years ago, the Academy asked him to apologize; he ultimately stepped down as host.

In Night School, Hart portrays a successful salesman who sees his life turned around after getting fired for accidentally destroying his workplace. Forced to attend night school so he can finally get his GED and find another job, he soon finds himself amongst a group of misfit students, a teacher with no patience for class clowns (Tiffany Haddish) and his high school nemesis-turned-principal (Taran Killam) who will strive to make sure he fails the course.

Universal Pictures’ The House With a Clock in its Walls, a family fantasy about a young boy who is sent to live with his uncle in a spooky old house, moved back up to No. 3 on both charts from No. 5 the prior week.

The Sony Pictures revenge thriller sequel Equalizer 2 remained at No. 4 on both charts for the second consecutive week.

Rounding out the top five on the Redbox disc-rental chart was The Predator, from 20th Century Fox, down two spots from its No. 3 debut the prior week.

The No. 5 spot on the Redbox digital chart went to Lionsgate’s A Simple Favor, also down from No. 3 the previous week.

The sole new release to chart at Redbox the week that ended Jan. 6 was A-X-L, a science-fiction adventure from Global Road Entertainment that debuted on the kiosk chart only at No. 10. The film only earned $8.2 million in domestic theaters against a reported budget of $10 million.

 

Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks, Week Ending January 6

  1. Night School
  2. Venom
  3. The House With a Clock in its Walls
  4. The Equalizer 2
  5. The Predator
  6. White Boy Rick
  7. Peppermint
  8. Smallfoot
  9. A Simple Favor
  10. A-X-L (new)

 

Top Digital, Redbox On Demand, Week Ending January 6

  1. Night School
  2. Venom
  3. The House With a Clock in its Walls
  4. The Equalizer 2
  5. A Simple Favor
  6. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  7. Peppermint
  8. White Boy Rick
  9. Smallfoot
  10. The Predator

 

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‘Night School,’ ‘Venom’ Top Redbox Charts

It was a split decision at Redbox the week ended Dec. 30.

Universal Pictures’ Night School, a comedy starring Kevin Hart that earned $77.3 million in North American theaters, debuted at No. 1 on the Redbox kiosk chart, which tracks DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals at the company’s more than 40,000 red vending machines.

Sony Pictures’ Venom, a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, remained on top of the Redbox On Demand chart for the second consecutive week. The Redbox On Demand chart tracks transactional video-on-demand (TVOD), both electronic sellthrough (EST) and transactional streaming.

Night School debuted at No. 2 on the Redbox On Demand chart. In the film, a successful salesman (Hart) sees his life turned around after getting fired for accidentally destroying his workplace. Forced to attend night school so he can finally get his GED and find another job, he soon finds himself amongst a group of misfit students, a teacher with no patience for class clowns (Tiffany Haddish) and his high school nemesis-turned-principal (Taran Killam) who will strive to make sure he fails the course.

Venom, with a domestic gross of $213 million 2018’s No. 10 movie, slipped to No. 2 on the Redbox disc-rental chart its second week in kiosks.

The Predator, from 20th Century Fox, debuted at No. 3 on the Redbox kiosk chart while slipping to No. 7 from No. 6 the prior week on the Redbox On Demand chart.

Rounding out the top five on the Redbox disc-rental chart were the Sony Pictures revenge thriller The Equalizer 2 at No. 4, down from No. 3 the prior week, and Universal Pictures’ The House With a Clock in its Walls at No. 5. The latter, a family fantasy about a young boy who is sent to live with his uncle in a spooky old house, had debuted at No. 2 the previous week.

Another new release, Sony Pictures’ White Boy Rick, debuted at No. 7 on the kiosk chart. The film, a biographical crime drama about the youngest-ever FBI informant, earned $24 million in theaters after debuting at the Telluride Film Festival.

On the Redbox On Demand digital chart, Lionsgate’s A Simple Favor, a black comedy about a vlogger who tries to solve the disappearance of her rich and mysterious best friend, slipped to No. 3 after bowing at No. 2 the prior week.

The Equalizer 2 finished the week at No. 4 followed at No. 5 by The House With a Clock in its Walls. Both films slipped a spot from the prior week.

White Boy Rick came in at No. 6 on the Redbox On Demand digital chart.

 

Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks, Week Ending December 30

  1. Night School (new)
  2. Venom
  3. The Predator (new)
  4. The Equalizer 2
  5. The House With a Clock in its Walls
  6. Smallfoot
  7. White Boy Rick (new)
  8. Peppermint
  9. A Simple Favor
  10. Mission: Impossible – Fallout

 

Top Digital, Redbox On Demand, Week Ending December 30

  1. Venom
  2. Night School
  3. A Simple Favor
  4. The Equalizer 2
  5. The House With a Clock in its Walls
  6. White Boy Rick
  7. Peppermint
  8. The Predator
  9. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  10. Smallfoot

 

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‘Venom’ Debuts at No. 1 on Redbox Disc Rental and Digital Charts

Sony Pictures’ Venom, a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, topped both Redbox charts the week ended Dec. 23.

With a domestic gross of $213 million the year’s No. 10 movie, Venom debuted at No. 1 on both the Redbox kiosk chart, which tracks DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals at the company’s more than 40,000 red vending machines, as well as the Redbox On Demand digital chart, which tracks digital transactions, both electronic sellthrough (EST) and transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) streaming.

Bowing at No. 2 on the kiosk chart and No. 4 on the digital chart was another new release, Universal Pictures’ The House With a Clock in Its Walls, a family fantasy film based on the 1973 book of the same name. The film, about a young boy who is sent to live with his uncle in a spooky old house, stars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, and Owen Vaccaro. It grossed $68.5 million in North American theaters.

Lionsgate’s A Simple Favor debuted at No. 2 on the Redbox On Demand digital chart (and No. 5 on the disc-rental chart). A black comedy about a vlogger who tries to solve the disappearance of her rich and mysterious best friend, the film stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively and Henry Golding and earned $53.5 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters.

The Sony Pictures revenge-thriller sequel The Equalizer 2 slipped to No. 3 on both charts, a week after its debut at No. 1.

Smallfoot, a computer-animated musical comedy-adventure from the Warner Animation Group, finished its second week of availability at No. 4 on the Redbox kiosk chart (down from No. 2) and No. 7 on the Redbox On Demand digital chart (down from No. 3).

Peppermint, another revenge thriller starring Jennifer Garner as a mom out to avenge the murder of her husband and 10-year-old daughter by a drug cartel, slipped to No. 6 from No. 3 on the disc-rental chart and No. 5 from No. 2 on the Redbox On Demand digital chart.

Holiday favorite Home Alone, from 20th Century Fox, shot up to No. 8 on the Redbox On Demand digital chart during the week before Christmas.

 

Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks, Week Ending December 23

  1. Venom (new)
  2. The House With a Clock in its Walls (new)
  3. The Equalizer 2
  4. Smallfoot
  5. A Simple Favor (new)
  6. Peppermint
  7. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  8. The Nun
  9. Crazy Rich Asians
  10. Mile 22

 

Top Digital, Redbox On Demand, Week Ending December 23

  1. Venom
  2. A Simple Favor
  3. The Equalizer 2
  4. The House With a Clock in its Walls
  5. Peppermint
  6. The Predator
  7. Smallfoot
  8. Home Alone
  9. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
  10. Crazy Rich Asians

 

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Buy or rent Redbox On Demand movies.

Fox Releases ‘Predator’ Holiday Special

As part of its promotional efforts for the newly released Blu-ray of The Predator, 20th Century Fox has released The Predator Holiday Special.

The two-minute video features stop-motion animation depicting an alien hunter from the “Predator” franchise waging war against Santa’s reindeer, and even features a literal “Alien” Easter egg.

The special aired Dec. 19 during an episode of “BoJack Horseman” on Comedy Central.

Merchandising: ‘Venom,’ ‘Predator’ Engage in Retail Battle

Among the new home video releases for Dec. 18, Sony Pictures’ Venom and 20th Century Fox’s The Predator arrived with similarly themed exclusives at each of the big-three retailers.

Target’s The Predator Blu-ray with booklet

Target offered Blu-rays of each film packaged with collectible booklets. The Venom Blu-ray with a 24-page gallery book was offered at $27.99. For The Predator, a 36-page The Art of the Hunt” booklet was included with specially marked copies of the Blu-ray ($24.99) or the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray combo pack ($29.99).

In addition, Target offered Redcard members a Funko Pop! vinyl figure of a red “Fugitive Predator.”

Best Buy continues to offer exclusive Steelbook packaging of major releases with distinctive box art. Venom Steelbooks were available with the Blu-ray ($27.99) and 4K UHD Blu-ray ($34.99) editions. The Steelbook for The Predator was offered at $29.99.

Best Buy’s Venom Steelbook
Best Buy’s The Predator Steelbook

Walmart packaged toys with each film. The Predator Blu-ray was offered as a gift set at $22.96 with a Pocket Pop! Keychain of a green vinyl “Fugitive Predator” figurine. The $27.96 Venom Blu-ray gift pack came with a 1980s-style retro action figure of the main character.

Walmart’s Venom Blu-ray with retro action figure

The Walmart Blu-ray was even promoted with a throwback toy commercial.

 

 

Amazon has an exclusive limited edition Venom Blu-ray with glossy foldout packaging and art from illustrator Marko Maney.

Among other promotions, Best Buy offered Blu-rays touted as “Stocking-Stuffer Gold” starting at $9.99, and holiday favorites on DVD and Blu-ray for $4.99 and $6.99. Best Buy is also taking preorders for a UHD Blu-ray Steelbook of Disney’s Nutcracker and the Four Realms for $34.99, though the release date is not yet announced.