‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ is No. 1, but it’s no winner

$29M box office is below expectations, which might mean trouble for franchise

LOS ANGELES — It might be judgment day for the Terminator franchise.

Despite generally favorable reviews and the return of star Linda Hamilton and producer James Cameron, “Terminator: Dark Fate” has opened well below expectations at the box office. Studios on Sunday estimated that “Dark Fate” earned only $29 million from over 4,000 North American locations. The film from Paramount Pictures cost a reported $185 million to produce.

It was enough to win the top spot at the box office, but it’s a weak victory for the franchise. Although “Dark Fate,” which was directed by “Deadpool’s” Tim Miller, received much better reviews (currently at 69% on Rotten Tomatoes) and was praised for being a return to form to Cameron’s original films, it opened just slightly ahead of 2015’s roundly derided “Terminator: Genisys.”

Internationally, “Dark Fate” did much better, earning $72.9 million from 48 markets. Fox International, not Paramount, is handling international distribution, excluding China.

Second place went to “Joker,” which added $13.9 million, bringing its global earnings to $934 million in just five weeks in theaters. “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” landed in third place in its third weekend with an additional $12.2 million. The Angelina Jolie-led sequel has grossed $84.3 million in North America.

Focus Features’ “Harriet,” the first film about Harriet Tubman and starring Cynthia Erivo in the title role, performed better than expected, earning $12 million from just over 2,000 theaters to take fourth place. The film scored a coveted A+ CinemaScore from audiences, who were primarily female (62 and over the age of 35 (59%). African Americans also made up a significant portion of the audience (49%) according to exit polls.

Focus did outreach to faith-based groups and educators and has seen enormous success with group sales as a result.

Other newcomers struggled. Edward Norton’s adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s “Motherless Brooklyn” opened in ninth place to $3.7 million, while the animated “Arctic Dogs” took 10th with $3.1 million.

Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” has no box office numbers to report, because Netflix declines to provide numbers for its theatrical releases. Starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, the film opened in limited release before hitting Netflix on Nov. 27 and is expected to be a major Oscars contender.

“Parasite” took in $2.6 million in its fifth weekend “Jojo Rabbit,” in its third weekend, added $2.4 million from 256 screens and “The Lighthouse,” also in its third weekend, grossed $2 million from 978 locations.