The new Predator prequel Prey has been receiving positive buzz in the past few weeks since its debut. Last weekend, it was finally released on Hulu, and it has now become the streaming service’s most-watched premiere of all time.
After decades of critical failures and commercial flops, Prey is finally securing the Predator franchise some respect. The film is a prequel that sees the bloodthirsty alien face off against a young Comanche woman in the Great Plains of 1719. It’s drawing attention for its groundbreaking casting of Native American actors and actresses in serious leading roles, and securing praise for its performances, cinematography, and action sequences.
The news of Prey's record-breaking premiere was announced by Disney, the majority owner of Hulu. Prey secured the most-watched film or TV premiere of all time on Hulu, as well as the most-watched film premiere ever on Star+ in Latin America and Disney Plus via Star in all other territories. Note that because streaming services rarely release viewing data, this has not been confirmed by an independent source. This news comes as Prey enjoys critical praise, with its score on Rotten Tomatoes currently holding 92% from critics and an 80% from audiences.
Given the buzz surrounding Prey and its smashing premiere, the big question of the moment is, “Why did they only release it on streaming?” Well, it’s not a surprise that this was the route chosen by distributor 20th Century Studios. According to an industry expert cited by The Hollywood Reporter, sending Prey straight to streaming was likely the most logical choice given the abject failure of its 2018 predecessor The Predator. In fact, most of the Predator sequels have had rocky premieres, so straight-to-streaming seems like an appropriate pipeline for any Predator property.
Now that the reviews and viewership numbers are coming in, it’s easy to say in retrospect that Prey would have performed well at the box office. But if the film wasn’t planned for streaming, it likely would have never happened. Steve Asbell, head of 20th Century Studios, says that with the straight-to-streaming option, “We get more of these at-bats, and we can make more bets on new talent.” With such an original interpretation of the Predator series, and lead almost entirely by unknown actors, Prey would have been a considerable risk for a studio to take, especially in today’s media world where mid-budget films almost always fall between the cracks.
Furthermore, according to Asbell, 20th Century is contractually obligated to fill a slate of 10 or more original films for Hulu each year, in genres distinct from those contributed by Disney. As a mid-budget project, Prey is precisely the kind of film they contribute to Hulu. In any case, the film is off to a fantastic start, and Hulu is likely over the moon that it’s received such a strong film in the slow month of August.
Prey is available to stream on Hulu.