‘Terminator: The Dark Fate’ is falling short of expectations. Though box office estimates have the sci-fi movie opening at number 1, it is now tracking much lower than the previously-reported record-breaking opening, with $27 million domestic.
Honestly, who thought that opening the new ‘Terminator’ movie on Halloween was a good idea? Not even the return of Linda Hamilton and James Cameron, nor the mixed-to-positive reviews could save this movie from Armageddon. Deadline is reporting that the Paramount movie will open with $27.1 million against a reported budget between $185 and $196 million. The report states that the breakeven point for the film lies around $470 million, so this puts the franchise in peril, but is it really a surprise?
Earlier in the month, box office projections had the film opening at above $40 million, the highest for the ‘Terminator’ franchise (the previous franchise record-holder was “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” with $44M). But then while early reactions from critics and advance screenings started off strong, they happened almost two full weeks before release. While much has been said for review embargoes for big movies, in this case it seemed like the conversation around “Dark Fate” already ended before the film opened.
There are also reports of production issues and creative conflicts. Just a couple of days ago, James Cameron admitted in an interview with CinemaBlend that director Tim Miller’s first cut was “pretty rough,” so the producer stepped in during editing, where some hard-fought battles between him and Miller took place. “I would say many,” said Cameron. “And the blood is still being scrubbed off the walls from those creative battles. This is a film that was forged in fire.” He described how Miller tried to make the film his own, and perhaps deviate from what the franchise is known for. “Tim wanted to make it his movie. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I kind of know a little about this world.’”
Certainly, the huge budget for the film didn’t, and won’t help its box office run, though Deadline also reported that Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger got lofty back-end deals. And while Arnold was certainly a huge star back in the ‘80s and still has name recognition, he hasn’t exactly starred in many box office hits recently. Could it be that audiences simply weren’t drawn by their names along? The same goes for Linda Hamilton, whose return to the franchise was a big part of the promotional campaign for “Dark Fate” but also hasn’t been involved in many big productions.
Then again, is it surprising that audiences are not flooding the theaters to see the sixth installment in a franchise that hasn’t really given us a decent movie in nearly 30 years? The last “Terminator” movie, “Terminator Genisys” was poorly received and it came out just four years ago. It is hard to blame audiences for being skeptical of a franchise that has burned them so many times in the past.