Predator (film)

Predator
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John McTiernan
Produced by	Lawrence Gordon Joel Silver John Davis
Written by	Jim Thomas John Thomas
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Carl Weathers
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Cinematography	Donald McAlpine
Edited by	Mark Helfrich John F. Link
Production companies	Lawrence Gordon Productions Silver Pictures Davis Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	June 12, 1987 (1987-06-12)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15–18 million
Box office	$98.3 million

Predator is a 1987 American science fiction film directed by John McTiernan. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite special forces team who are on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Central America. Kevin Peter Hall co-stars as the titular antagonist, a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life secretly stalking and hunting the group. Predator was written by Jim and John Thomas in 1985, under the working title of Hunter. Filming began in April 1986 and creature effects were devised by Stan Winston.

The film's budget was around $15 million. 20th Century Fox released it in the United States on June 12, 1987, where it grossed $59,735,548. Initial critical reaction was mixed; criticism focused on the thin plot. In subsequent years, critics' attitudes toward the film became positive, and it has appeared on a number of "best of" lists. It spawned two sequels, Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010), and two crossover films with the Alien franchise, Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007). Another film, The Predator, is scheduled for 2018.

A spacecraft flies near Earth and deposits a bright object which enters the atmosphere. In the Val Verde jungle, Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer and his six-man team, consisting of operators Mac Elliot, Billy Sole, and Blaine Cooper, demolitions and explosives expert Jorge "Poncho" Ramírez, and radioman Rick Hawkins, are tasked by the CIA with rescuing an official held hostage by insurgents. CIA agent and liaison Colonel George Dillon, a former commando and an old friend of Dutch's, is assigned to supervise the team despite Dutch's reservations.