AVP: Alien vs. Predator

"Whoever wins... we lose."

2004 1h 41m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

21%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.7

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 5,176🥫21%Rotten Tomatoes●29Metacritic★5.7IMDB · 231,347

AdventureScience FictionActionHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.

“Whoever wins... we lose.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

fuboTVSubscription

PhiloSubscription

YouTube TVSubscription

FXNowSubscription

BBC AmericaSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Spectrum On DemandRent

Amazon VideoBuy

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Sanaa Lathan
Alexa Woods
Lance Henriksen
Charles Bishop Weyland
Ian Whyte
Scar
Raoul Bova
Sebastian de Rosa
Ewen Bremner
Graeme Miller
Colin Salmon
Maxwell Stafford
Tommy Flanagan
Mark Verheiden
Joseph Rye
Joe Connors

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Writers: Paul W. S. Anderson, Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Languages: Italian, English
Countries: Czech Republic, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Czech Republic, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "AVP Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

240+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, shot by David Johnson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Harald Kloser. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul W. S. Anderson directs. David Johnson behind the camera. Harald Kloser scores. Alexander Berner cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Czech Republic, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Italian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 22 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, English.
4International production across 4 countries: Czech Republic, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Part of the "AVP Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6240+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
7Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, shot by David Johnson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Harald Kloser. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Alexander Berner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen and Ian Whyte carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Whoever wins... we lose.".
12IMDB entry: tt0370263 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 11 themes, including "space marine", "saving the world", "predator", "praise".
14Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: David Johnson
Original score: Harald Kloser
Editing: Alexander Berner
Production design: Richard Bridgland
Costume design: Magali Guidasci
Makeup / hair: Lesley Lamont-Fisher
VFX supervisor: Adam Valdez
Sound: Andrew Stirk
Stunt coordinator: Rick Forsayeth
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $70,000,000
Box office: $177,427,090
Return: 253% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes: 21% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 29/100
IMDB rating: 5.7/10 · 231,347 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 wins & 4 nominations total

Part of

AVP Collection

The Alien vs. Predator (also known as AVP) collection is a science fiction film series bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series.

Also by

Paul W. S. Anderson

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-03-08
★ 5/10
Monstrous - but not a total monstrosity. Antartica, and an expedition is about to uncover a battleground for Aliens and Predators. Whoever wins, we lose! So ran the tag line for Paul W. S. Anderson's prequel (?) to two fanatically worshipped franchises. Little was Anderson to know that it was the majority of cinema goers who would feel that they had "lost" their cash on coming out after watching this miss-matched effort. Though in truth nobody could seriously have expected a film to rival the best of both serials (Alien, Aliens & Predator), it's still right that us fans should expect the formula to be respectfully adhered too. We want character build up, we expect a group dynamic to function, and we definitely want the baddies to stay just that, as baddies. It's not a total loss, though, even as Anderson all too quickly hurtles towards his "humans caught in a cube like puzzle box" blood bath, there is just enough back story and anticipation to tickle the tongue. In fact, when it all goes pear shaped and Xenomorphs, Pred-Rastas and humans are all lined up for slotting, it's damn near exciting stuff. While the pyramid/cube/maze design is pretty awesome. However, then the plus points are vanquished as the film quickly becomes kiddie friendly as gloop gives way to strawberry jelly, featuring a turn of events with our "heroine" that's so clumsy I'd be surprised if Anderson sleeps at night. Still, it's obvious that Anderson loves both franchises and he in no way would have wanted to make a stinker. But he has made a very average movie, one that's got two things in its favour. One being that is the neat middle section, the other that it's not half as bad as the messy hack job that was AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem in 2007. 5/10
Gimly2018-03-19
★ 6/10
I can honestly say, that this is one of the most under-rated films of 2004. Not because it was good, just because it was panned so fucking hard by critics! I think this is mostly due to the fact that it was being compared to both the Alien and Predator series, which is fair enough, but it was never going to be what either of those films was. Ultimately it's downfall came from some poor dialogue, and trying to reach a larger audience. Where Predators was a film that you didn't need to have watched all the others in order to follow, it was still fundamentally a Predator film, aimed at the Predator-loving market. AVP on the other hand used references to the older films, but then completely threw the canon out the window and went for a larger fanbase. And whilst it worked to some degree (my grandma liked it) it wasn't enough of a step in either direction. AVP was complicated as a stand alone, and disastrous when compared to anything else in the franchise except perhaps its sequel Requiem (and maybe Predator 2 or Alien3). Honestly I think the film works as an archetypal film in the realm of both Alien and Predator, just not a sequel or prequel to either. The lead protagonist is a woman by the name of Alexa Woods, portayed by Sanaa Lathan (Blade, Contagion) who was clearly meant to be a modern day Ripley, and catastrophically failed at doing so. The Predators were as cool as ever, and people complained that in the latter half of the film they weren't as ghostly as in Predator/Predator 2, but we've already had two whole films of that, and these were juvenile Predators, so it sort of made sense that they were a tad more restless. Bringing Lance Henriksen (Damien: Omen II, Piranha II: The Spawning, The Terminator, Aliens, Alien 3, Pumpkinhead, The Quick and the Dead, Mind Ripper, Scream 3, The Lost Tribe) back was an awesome decision, one that was probably lost on the audience who had not seen the Alien series. Tommy Flanagan (Smokin' Aces 1 and 2, Sin City, When a Stranger Calls [2006], Gladiator, Braveheart) is another an actor I love, it was a shame his character (Mark Verheiden) was so underused. Ultimately, the film is a good one to pick up and put down, don't think about it too much, don't compare it to the others, go in with your only expectation being that it's a monster-movie, then you won't come out too disappointed. 59% -Gimly
CinemaSerf2022-04-18
★ 5/10
If Paul WS Anderson had just taken a moment longer to look at the casting here, he might have had a decent property. A solid conflict between the ultimate ninja "Predator" and the ultimate killing machine from "Alien". Why didn't he? Instead, we find a truly C-list bunch of acting fodder exploring a temple wherein, aeons ago, these two titans of terror battled it out. On arrival in the sacrifice room, they inadvertently release some eggs, and some "Predator" creatures, and soon some of them are on the menu for both as a battle royal looms. The special effects are good, and the action elements work fine too. I even found myself taking sides - just not with the humans, who deserved every tortuous chewing, stabbing and nasty involuntary caesarians that they got. It's paced well, it looks eerie and sinister, and the ending is quite exciting - it's just a real shame the writing and the acting are really mediocre. Teed up for a sequel too - I can only hope it ups it's game for that!