‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ Bombs, Could Lose Up to $130 Million
Things are not looking up for the newest installment in the Terminator franchise. Terminator: Dark Fate is meeting a much darker fate than its predecessors — The Hollywood Reporter predicts it could lose upwards of $130 million after a subpar opening weekend globally. After its initial grossing of $29 million in the US, a successful reach overseas was the movie’s last hope. But sadly, a meager debut in China has left the movie in box office shambles.
The movie is the sixth — and potentially final — installment in James Cameron’s iconic science fiction series, beginning in 1984 with The Terminator. Its 1991 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, was an immediate box office success. Since then, Terminator movies have managed to reach significant box office highs — if not domestically, than internationally. So what happened? Directed by Tim Miller of Deadpool fame, Terminator: Dark Fate was always in capable hands. In fact, the movie has been received well critically, with a decent 70 percent on aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton have been praised for reprising their roles with grace. Perhaps moviegoers have had their fill of the cyborg franchise. Or perhaps it's because simply nothing can compete with Joker, which has become the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time.
Despite its massively underwhelming release, Terminator: Dark Fate still hit the #1 spot on the domestic box office chart for its opening weekend. But with significant investments from Paramount, Skydance, and Fox/Disney (each shelling out 30% of the film's $185 million budget), such a huge loss will definitely influence whether or not the Terminator will be back.
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