Predators (2010) Movie: Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

Predators (2010) is about a group of killers who wake up falling through the sky and land in a jungle that is not on Earth. The setup is stranger than a standard monster hunt, because nobody in the group knows who moved them or why.

Royce, a hardened mercenary, comes to in mid fall and crashes into a dense jungle. He meets seven other strangers who arrived the same way: a cartel enforcer, a Russian soldier, an Israeli sniper, a Sierra Leonean fighter, a death row inmate, a Yakuza killer and a doctor. None of them can say where they are or how they got there.

As the group explores, they find a strange monument, empty cages and traps that were clearly built for something. Then they look up and see planets in the sky, which answers the question of where they are. They are not on Earth, and the rest of the film is about finding out what lives here.

The full plot of Predators (2010) is a survival story in which eight humans work out that their new home is a game preserve and that they are the game. Royce takes charge early, and the group soon meets alien beasts that attack without warning. The cartel enforcer Cuchillo is killed, and his body is then used as bait.

The survivors find a camp holding a captive Predator. Soon after, they are hit by three larger Predators called Tracker, Berserker and Falconer, who kill Mombasa. The group then meets Noland, a soldier who has survived alone on the planet for years. He explains that the larger Predators are locked in a feud with a smaller clan. Royce sees a way home: free the captive so it will fly them off the planet.

Noland turns on the group and tries to smother them with smoke, and Tracker kills him as the others flee. The film then thins the cast one set piece at a time. Nikolai sacrifices himself with mines, and Stans dies buying time for the others. Hanzo kills Falconer in a sword duel but is mortally wounded. Edwin is hurt in a trap and Isabelle stays with him, so Royce goes on alone.

Berserker captures Isabelle and Edwin, and Royce offers to free the captive Predator in exchange for passage to Earth. Berserker kills the captive and destroys its ship as it lifts off, which appears to kill Royce. Edwin then paralyzes Isabelle and reveals that he is a serial killer who intends to stay on the planet. Royce, who survived, returns, and Edwin is stabbed with his own scalpel. Royce and Isabelle then kill Berserker together.

Predators (2010) opened in the US and UK on July 9, 2010, and in Australia a day earlier on July 8, 2010, according to Box Office Mojo. A first look at the film was shown at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin on March 12, 2010, about four months before release. The film is rated R in the US, 15 in the UK and MA 15+ in Australia.

Was it a flop? The numbers say no. Box Office Mojo records $52 million domestic and $75 million international, for $127 million worldwide on a $40 million budget. That is a little more than three times the cost, though theatrical gross is not profit, since theaters take a share and marketing costs sit on top.

Against its neighbors in the saga, the picture is mixed. Predators out-earned both Predator (1987) and Predator 2 worldwide. It trailed The Predator 2018, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem and AVP: Alien vs. Predator. The full breakdown is on the Predator box office page.

The ending of Predators (2010) suggests the hunt is a cycle, and the survivors have escaped one round of it without escaping the planet. Royce and Isabelle kill Berserker, introduce themselves properly for the first time, and then see more parachutes falling from the sky. New victims are arriving, and the two head deeper into the jungle to look for a way home.

What do the parachutes mean? In my opinion, they are the smartest image in the film, because they replay the opening for an audience that now understands it. The first time, a falling Royce was a mystery. The second time, the chutes are a verdict: the preserve restocks itself, and the humans were never the first or the last batch. It could be argued that the film is also leaving the door open for more stories on the same planet, which fits with Rodriguez having pitched a third Predator film as far back as 1994, when Fox passed because the budget was too high.

Why does Edwin matter so much? Edwin looks like the innocent of the group, the doctor who cannot fight. The reveal, after he paralyzes Isabelle, that he is a serial killer who intends to stay, turns him from prey into a second predator. His death by his own scalpel is tidy justice. Royce's return is just as telling, because Berserker had appeared to end him when it destroyed the captive's ship as it lifted off, and he still comes back for Isabelle. For a mercenary who began the film leading by self interest, that is the character arc in one beat.

There is also a pattern in how the film spends its cast. Noland smothering the group with smoke, Nikolai's mines, Stans buying time and Hanzo's sword duel with Falconer each work as a small set piece that removes a different kind of fighter. By the time Royce faces Berserker, he has only Isabelle, which is why the final kill is shared.

Compared with Predator (1987), where Dutch leads a team of mercenary soldiers against one hunter in a Central American jungle, this ending reverses the logic. Here the hunters are the hosts, the humans are the cargo, and the jungle is not home. Predator 2 moved the hunt to a Los Angeles heat wave, so Predators is the entry that finally takes the contest to the hunters' ground. Paradoxically, that makes the final shot feel smaller than the first film's, because there is no helicopter and no rescue, only a longer walk.

Predators (2010) was filmed in Hawaii and Texas, with jungle exteriors shot in Hawaii (including Kolekole) and interiors built at Robert Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios in Austin. Roughly 22 days were shot in Hawaii.

The rest of the film was shot in Texas, with additional exteriors at Canyon Lake Gorge and Hamilton Pool Preserve. About 60 percent of the film was shot in Texas to qualify for a tax benefit, so a story set on an alien jungle planet spent most of its schedule in the Austin area.

That split between Hawaiian jungle exteriors and Austin studio interiors is how the film built its one planet. For a comparison with how other entries were shot, see Prey (2022), which was filmed in Alberta.

Predators (2010) has a long development story, and these are the facts on record.

• Robert Rodriguez wrote an early script for a third Predator film in 1994, but Fox passed because the budget was too high.
• Nimród Antal was signed to direct on July 1, 2009, with Rodriguez producing.
• The film was made at Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios in Austin to give him more creative control.
• Roughly 22 days were shot in Hawaii, and interiors were built at the Austin studio.
• About 60 percent of the film was shot in Texas to qualify for a tax benefit.
• Adrien Brody added about 25 pounds of muscle for the role of Royce.
• A first look at the film was shown at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin on March 12, 2010.
• Long Tall Sally by Little Richard appears in the film, as it did in Predator (1987).

For how the film fits with the rest of the series, see the Predator timeline and the Predator movies ranked page.