By Terminator: Dark Fate flopped hard this weekend pulling in only $29 million and scrubbing, yet again, the hopeful launch of a new era for the franchise. That’s the third time in ten years this has happened. People didn’t want it when they went into the future with Christian Bale. People didn’t want it rebooted with Emilia Clarke. And people evidently didn’t want it this time, when they brought back the old gang for one last go.
Maybe, just maybe, Terminator isn’t actually a franchise. Maybe, just maybe, it was two incredible films that made a ton of money and helped define action cinema but isn’t actually something audiences wanted all that much more of. Despite decent to good reviews and the return of James Cameron’s name to the franchise no one turned up for Terminator: Dark Fate and maybe that’s just because folks just don’t want more Terminator. Hell, even China, where star power still reigns, turned away from the film with only $28 million in total.
You could argue the R-rating had something to do with it. $28 million for an R-rated film isn’t historically bad at all, but Paramount wasn’t aiming for historical success with the R, they thought they could cash in on the kind of gonzo R-rated success recent hits like Deadpool, Joker, and Logan had. The problem is those were all based on franchises that hadn’t had three films in a row that let fans down, if there are still any fans left of the IP.
Stop trying to make Terminator happen. It’s not going to happen.
1. Terminator: Dark Fate – $29,000,000
2. Joker – $13,925,000
3. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil – $12,175,000
4. Harriet – $12,000,000
5. The Addams Family (2019) – $8,499,007
6. Zombieland: Double Tap – $7,350,000
7. Countdown – $5,850,000
8. Black and Blue – $4,050,000
9. Motherless Brookyn – $3,650,000
10. Arctic Dogs – $3,100,000
