After previous models revealed more than a few flaws, there appears to be less enthusiasm among moviegoers to check out what Terminator: Dark Fate has under the hood. That’s perhaps the biggest takeaway from the film’s tepid US opening weekend at the box office.
Despite opening in first place this weekend across the pond, besting Joker in its fifth weekend and Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil in its third, the Tim Miller-directed Terminator: Dark Fate fell below expectations with a debut of an estimated $29 million. That number also makes Dark Fate the lowest No 1 November opening in the States since Ender’s Game in 2013.
This figure is below the floor that Paramount Pictures (the film’s US distributor) set – the studio estimated weekend takings of $30 to $40 million – and it is certainly below what expectations must’ve existed when the film was greenlit with a reported $185 million price tag. It’s also only slightly above the previous attempt to reboot the franchise with 2015’s Terminator: Genisys, which opened at $27 million four years ago. Perhaps the grimmest comparison, though, is how far below it is from previous instalments over a decade ago, including Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003), which opened at $43 million, and Terminator: Salvation’s $42.6 million in 2008.
Of course, Terminator: Dark Fate has already been in UK cinemas for nearly two weeks now, and the film’s international takings are currently hovering around $95 million, making for a $124 million worldwide total so far.
The news isn’t necessarily shocking since Terminator: Dark Fate has been tracking soft for weeks, but it is still disquieting to gross only a little more than half of what Rise Of The Machines did without 15 years-worth of ticket inflation. Also, unlike the last two instalments in the franchise, Dark Fate received generally better, if not necessarily enthusiastic, reviews – even if many criticised it for being essentially a beat-for-beat remake of the original 1984 movie. With little narratively new to offer, it seems Dark Fate lacked a strong hook beyond Hamilton’s return to sell the movie, and it appears nostalgia for this franchise is fairly spent.
Terminator: Dark Fate, of course, is only at the beginning of its run. And globally, Paramount and 20th Century Fox (which is handling international distribution) could see a silver lining. But the movie has a tough fight ahead of it over the next couple of weeks, with the competition including The Shining follow-up Doctor Sleep and starry racing drama Le Mans ’66 – both of which are likely to cut into Terminator’s box office. But hey, Sarah Connor has beaten the odds before…
