Despite controversy and mixed reviews, Shane Black’s The Predator was able to dethrone The Nun and take first place at the box office on its opening weekend.

As reported by Deadline, The Predator is estimated to finish the weekend with $26 million, having already earned $10.4 million on Friday and $2.5 million from Thursday previews. The Nun dropped to second place, earning $18.4 million in its second weekend. The Predator will likely have a stronger debut than 2010’s Predators, which brought in $24.7 million on its opening weekend.

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Critics were mixed about Black’s new Predator movie, with some calling it “the best since the original,” and others labeling it “an incomprehensible mess.” The sci-fi action flick was also mired in controversy following Black’s hiring of a convicted sex offender, Fox’s silence on the issue and the studio's chastisement of Oliva Munn following her reporting of the actor.

There are hopes Predator will spawn a trilogy of films, though a sequel has not been officially announced.

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Directed by Shane Black from a script he wrote with Fred Dekker, The Predator stars Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey, and Yvonne Strahovski. The film is out in theaters everywhere now.