‘Terminator’ opens below expectations
The “Terminator” franchise may not be back.
Moviegoing masses in the U.S. and Canada spurned the sixth chapter in the science-fiction movie series over the weekend, calling into question the future of the 35-year-old property.
The latest film, “Terminator: Dark Fate,” cost at least $185 million to make, not including tens of millions in marketing expenses. While it was No. 1 in North America, ticket sales fell well below expectations: $29 million, according to Comscore. Paramount Pictures, which distributed the movie, had been expecting about $40 million.
Overseas, where Disney is mostly handling distribution (through its 20th Century Fox division), sales were relatively leaden: $73 million from 48 countries.
Warner Bros. also had a bad weekend. “Motherless Brooklyn,” a highminded crime drama directed by Edward Norton, who played the lead and wrote the screenplay, was dead on arrival. It collected $3.7 million. “Motherless Brooklyn” cost about $25 million to make, not including marketing.
“Joker” (Warner) chugged away in second place, collecting $13.9 million for a five-week total of $300 million ($935 million worldwide), while “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (Disney) was third, taking in $12.2 million and lifting its three-week total to $84.3 million.
“Harriet” (Focus Features), a new biographical drama about Harriet Tubman, outperformed prerelease expectations to take in about $12 million and place fourth.
“Terminator: Dark Fate,” directed by Tim Miller (“Deadpool”) and carrying an R rating, received decent reviews. James Cameron, who created the series in 1984, returned as a producer for the first time since “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” released in 1991.
The latest chapter also brought back Linda Hamilton. Arnold Schwarzenegger reprised his role as well.
But there appeared to be little goodwill left for the franchise, especially at a time when other options — Fortnite, Netflix, TikTok, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus — are plentiful.