In entertainment, what matters is the bottom line. And in Hollywood, for a movie to make a profit, it has to earn two and a half times what it cost to make. And, bearing in mind 1980's dollars and ticket prices and today's ticket prices, have a look:
Released
Movie Name
1st Weekend
US Gross
Worldwide Gross
Budget
5/25/1979
Alien
$3,522,581
$80,930,630
$203,630,630
$9,000,000
7/18/1986
Aliens
$10,052,042
$85,160,248
$183,316,455
$17,000,000
5/22/1992
AlienĀ³
$23,141,188
$54,927,174
$158,500,000
$55,000,000
11/28/1997
Alien: Resurrection
$16,474,092
$47,795,018
$160,700,000
$60,000,000
8/13/2004
AVP: Alien Vs. Predator
$38,291,056
$80,281,096
$172,543,519
$70,000,000
Totals
$349,094,166
$878,690,604
$211,000,000
Averages
$69,818,833
$175,738,121
$42,200,000
Released
Movie Name
1st Weekend
US Gross
Worldwide Gross
Budget
6/12/1987
Predator
$12,031,638
$59,735,548
$98,267,558
$18,000,000
11/21/1990
Predator 2
$8,784,943
$28,317,513
$54,768,418
$35,000,000
8/13/2004
AVP: Alien Vs. Predator
$38,291,056
$80,281,096
$172,543,519
$70,000,000
7/7/2010
Robert Rodriguez's Predators
-
-
-
-
Totals
$168,334,157
$325,579,495
$123,000,000
Averages
$56,111,386
$108,526,498
$41,000,000
Do the math and see why the franchise is not as strong as it was.