‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ Bombs But Still Finishes No. 1 at the Weekend Box Office

Terminator: Dark Fate did everything in its power to appeal to moviegoers. Arnold Schwarzenegger reprised his role as the titular Terminator, and Linda Hamilton returned for the first time since Judgement Day in 1991. Dark Fate also marked the return of James Cameron to the franchise as a producer, following a nearly three-decade hiatus. And it snagging Deadpool director Tim Miller to helm the film certainly couldn’t hurt, right?

Even though it appeared that the sixth installment in the Terminator franchise made all the right moves, moviegoers didn’t bite. Dark Fate earned just $29 million domestically, an underwhelming debut for a film that had a $185 million budget. Internationally, the film didn’t fare much better, earning just $72.9 million in 48 markets. 

Signs that interest the Terminator franchise has waned have been evident for quite some time. Dark Fate is the franchise’s third installment in the last decade to underwhelm at the box office. Salvation amassed $371 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, while Genisys brought in $441 million internationally.

Last year, we pointed out six movie franchises that need to die right now. Terminator was on that list because the films “didn’t even make that much sense back when it was actually good,” but now that they aren’t even providing a return on their investment, the franchise might be officially terminated.