It was the best of times and worst of times for Paramount/Skydance/Fox tentpoleTerminator: Dark Fateas it both won the box office during its opening weekend but also tanked hard with only $29 million earned domestically. It’s a jaw-dropping turn for the 35-year-old action franchise which featured the return of starsLinda HamiltonandArnold Schwarzeneggeralongside franchise newcomersMackenzie Davis,Natalia Reyes, andGabriel Lunain directorTim Miller’s vision on the continuingTerminatorstory, which ignores other sequels and picks up after the events ofTerminator 2: Judgment Day.
Here are the cold, hard facts:Terminator: Dark Fateopened in 4,086 theaters this weekend across the nation. Per theater, the movie averaged $7,097. Overseas,Dark Fatebrought in $72.9 million, reflecting the total earnings from 48 markets. Among the top markets were China ($28M), Korea ($10M), the United Kingdom ($7), France ($6M), and Russia ($4M). This brings the newTerminatorflicks global opening weekend total to $101.9 million. So sure,Dark Fatezoomed past adjusted Saturday predictions of a $27 million opening weekend (earlier in the week, predictions hovered around $30 to $40 million) and a $101.9 million global total seems impressive, it’s very much a troubling start for the latest installment in a popular action franchise.
Terminator: Dark Fatewill have to cover a lot of ground now, perhaps more than could have been imagined by the studio, when in the coming weeks. Although a specific number is unconfirmed,Dark Fate’s budget is somewhere in the $185 to $196 million range. Do a quick bit of math and that means, in its opening weekend, domestically speakingDark Fatemade somewhere between 14.7% to 15.6% of its budget back; for my money, that’s a grim opening for a legacy franchise, even with overseas totals serving up a big boost. When it comes to comparingTerminator: Dark Fate’s domestic opening weekend with previousTerminatorsequel domestic opening weekends, it sits betweenTerminator GenisysandJudgment Day. Back in June 2015,Genisysmade $27 million;Judgment Daymade $31.7 million;Terminator Salvationmade $42 million back in 2009; last but not least (and certainly most surprisingly),Terminator 3: Rise of the Machinesclocked in at $44 million in its 2003 opening weekend.
So, what happened here? While it would be difficult to land on one singular pathology forDark Fate’s big opening weekend stumble, there are a couple options to consider even if we may never know the exact answer. The first would be that audiences have been burned too many times before with previous sequels. Aside fromJudgment Day,Terminatorsequels have been regarded with mixed feelings from fans as they’ve attempted to build out the world and complex storyline of the franchise. The second could be that audiences are tired altogether with theTerminatorworld, similarly to fellow aging action franchisesRambo, which released a new and final installment that was met with weak box office results and left theaters still in the red.
Another possibility is perhaps something directly tied to the film itself, with the results of clashes between Miller andJames Cameron, who returned as a producer, in the editing room in post-production.Cameron was candid in our recent interviewwith him about how his input on the final cut ofDark Fatewas met with some strong opposition and he even deemed the first cut “pretty rough.” Then again, perhaps it’s the time of year this movie opened. Past sequels were released in the summer (read: May/June/July) window, withDark Fatethe first installment to in the franchise to get a fall release date sinceThe Terminatordebuted in October 1984.Dark Fateis being released in a fall dead zone, so to speak, as the buzz of Halloween wanes and the high of the Thanksgiving/Black Friday box office is still a few weeks away. Right now,Dark Fatehas a long road ahead if it wants to get into the same ballpark as the global totals of previousTerminatorsequels (in the $370-520 million range).
The rest of this weekend’s box office panned out in a relatively predictable fashion. NewcomersHarriet,Motherless Brooklyn, and the animated flickArctic Dogsall made it into the top 10. TheCynthia Erivo-ledHarrietcame in at number four with a $12 million domestic opening.Edward Norton’s directorial debutMotherless Brooklynnabbed $3.65 million here in the U.S., averaging $2,720 per theater across 1,342 locations. As forArctic Dogs, which features the voice talents ofJeremy RennerandHeidi Klum, came in at number 10 with $3.1 million pocketed domestically.
Jokerreclaimed its number two spot in the box office chart this weekend, experiencing a 28% dip in earnings as it raked in $13.9 million stateside. As for Disney’sMaleficent: Mistress of Evilobserved a 37% slip in domestic earnings with $12.2 million earned across 3,820 theaters. The sequel to 2014’s live-actionMaleficentbrought in another $40 million from a total of 56 international markets, bringing its three-week global total to $383.2 million. Holding strong at the middle of the box office chart areThe Addams FamilyandZombieland 2: Double Tap, which earned $8.5 million and $7.35 million domestically, respectively.
As we ponder where theTerminator: Dark Fatetrained derailed and prepare to watch what will no doubt be a curious theatrical run unfold, we are also preparing for the arrival of some big movies. Debuting on Friday, November 8 isDoctor Sleep,Last Christmas,Midway, andPlaying With Fire. Each movie brings something new to the table and will be strong competition for similar films in the same genre. All in all, if you thought this weekend’s box office race was interesting, wait until you see how next weekend’s goes.
For more onTerminator: Dark Fate, check out our fun newinterview with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamiltonas well as our positivereview of the movie. The November 1-3 weekend chart is below:
Terminator: Dark Fate
$29,000,000
$13,925,000
$299,611,992
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
$12,175,000
$84,324,711
$12,000,000
The Addams Family (2019)
$8,499,007
$85,295,007
Zombieland 2: Double Tap
$7,350,000
$59,307,162
$5,850,000
$17,766,036
Black and Blue
$4,050,000
$15,442,478
Motherless Brooklyn
$3,650,000
Arctic Dogs
$3,100,000
