The Predator film franchise has thrilled audiences around the world for over 30 years. The franchise has tracked the eponymous extraterrestrial hunters as they stalk their prey across the globe (and beyond), from the jungles of Central America to the suburbs of Middle America. With Shane Black now delivering The Predator, the first true sequel to the action/sci-fi film series in eight years, we've put together a ranking of the franchise, including its crossovers with the Alien film series, based on critical scoring.

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Since the popular film franchise has never quite been a hit with the critics, this ranking will also include audience scores (where available) for the six films, though that score will not be factored into the average used for the ranking below. With that said, let's start with the most poorly received entry in the entire franchise.

6. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - Average Score: 20

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the follow-up to 2004's Alien vs. Predator, proved to be an even weaker entry for critics despite the film doubling down on violence to earn an R rating (the first film received a PG-13 rating). Marking the directorial debut of brothers Colin and Greg Strause, the 2007 sequel takes place shortly after the events of the initial crossover, with the Alien-Predator hybrid causing a Predator ship to crash outside a small Colorado town. A veteran Predator travels to Earth alone to destroy the hybrid along with all trace of the Xenomorphs that escaped in the crash.

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Most critics were put off by the film's mean-spirited tone and weak script delivered by half-hearted performances from the cast. "It's a passable slasher that's still nowhere near the interspecies smackdown we geeks have long imagined," observed Luke Y. Thompson from LA Weekly. Time Out's Nigel Floyd remarked that the film's "dialogue is unspeakable, the visceral horror all too familiar and the ideas distinctly second-hand." The film has a critics' score of 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 29.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem currently holds an audience score of 30 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

5. Alien vs. Predator - Average Score: 24.5

A Predator and Alien crossover had been teased since a Xenomorph skull was spotted inside a Predator spacecraft in 1990's Predator 2. Directed by Resident Evil's Paul W. S. Anderson, the long-awaited crossover premiered in 2004 with a human crew sent to explore an ancient pyramid hidden under the ice off the coast of Antarctica. The team quickly discovers that the structure is used as a training ground for Predators, pitting the hunters against Xenomorphs.

The sci-fi monster mash was widely lambasted upon its release, with critics dismissing the 2004 film as uninspired and exploitatively cheap. Ed Halter from The Village Voice summarized the movie as "perfunctory battle sequences, cardboard characters and uncreative scare 'ems." Peter Howell of the Toronto Star labeled the crossover "an interesting combination that results in a gloppy mess." The film has a critics' score of 20 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 29.

Alien vs. Predator currently holds an audience score of 39 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

4. Predator 2 - Average Score: 37

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Predator 2 nearly ended the entire franchise in its sophomore outing with its lukewarm critical reception and disappointing box office totals, despite being regarded by fans as an underrated cult classic. Predator star Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped out of the sequel early on due to a salary dispute and location disagreement. Danny Glover replaced the action star as an L.A.P.D. cop that finds a gang war interrupted by the arrival of the eponymous alien.

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Directed by Stephen Hopkins, the 1990 sequel received a mixed critical response and earned less than half of its predecessor's box office totals. Roger Ebert dismissed the film, writing in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times that "the dialogue is foul and clinical, and the special effects, while expensive, are not interesting." Ian Nathan from Empire Magazine observed that, with its new cast and director, the movie was "surprisingly good." The film has a critics' score of 28 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 46.

Predator 2 currently holds an audience score of 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

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3. The Predator - Average Score: 49

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The Predator is filmmaker Shane Black's attempt to make the iconic action/sci-fi franchise fun again following criticism that previous installments had been too serious. The 2018 film features a ragtag team of ex-soldiers facing an escaped alien hunter, only for a larger, genetically-enhanced rival to suddenly join the fight.

Leaning heavily into humor, unapologetically over-the-top action sequences and Black's trademark sense of postmodern self-awareness, critical response has largely been mixed. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com noted the "fantastic cast and razor-sharp pacing, the fact is that this is what you want from a movie called The Predator." Dennis Harvey from Variety dismissed it as "an exhaustingly energetic mess in which a coherent plot and credible characters aren't even on the cluttered menu." The film has a critics' score of 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 55.

Ahead of its wide release, The Predator does not currently have an audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

2. Predators - Average Score: 53

Predators was an attempt to invert the premise of the franchise, which has always seen the alien hunters stalk Earth. Instead, Predators brings the human prey to an alien planet and interstellar hunting ground. Directed by Nimrod Antal (Metallica: Through the Never), the sequel sees a motley crew of prolific killers dropped suddenly on the faraway world and caught between two warring factions of Predators.

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Critics were much more favorable in their assessment of the film than previous Predator sequels and crossovers. Annalee Newitz of io9 called the sequel "a classy B-movie." Amy Biancolli of the Houston Chronicle observed that "none of this is scary, and nothing makes sense." The film has a critics' score of 65 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 51.

Predators currently holds an audience score of 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

1. Predator - Average Score: 62.5

The original 1987 Predator was released at perhaps the apex of Arnold Schwarzenegger's career as an international action hero. In the film, Schwarzenegger's character leads a crack team of elite soldiers into a Central American jungle on a top-secret mission. After dispatching hostiles, the ensemble discovers they're being picked off one-by-one by a mysterious, cloaked hunter from another world.

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Directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard), the film is easily the most critically acclaimed of the franchise. Critics lauded the film for its unabashed machismo, charismatic cast and tight pacing. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the movie "a slick, high-energy action picture." Douglas Pratt from The Hollywood Reporter praised the film as "so lean, so exciting and so imaginative that you can watch it every month or two, year in and year out, and never get tired of it." The film has a critics' score of 80 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 45.

Predator currently holds an audience score of 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by Shane Black, The Predator arrives in theaters on Sept. 14.