Future Terminator movies are on hold indefinitely following the US box office failure of new instalment Genisys, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Plans for a “cinematic universe” based on the long-running man versus machines sci fi saga have also been shelved by studio Paramount, the HR reports, citing inside sources. Terminator: Genisys has so far scored more than $440 million (Dh1,616 million) worldwide on the back of a $112 million haul in China, but new report suggests a weak $89 million US total and a $150 million production budget means it will still lose money.
Genisys’s apparent failure comes despite producer David Ellison’s success in recruiting Arnold Schwarzenegger to return to the iconic role of the T800 cyborg he first played in 1984’s The Terminator. The new film also brought on board a high-profile cast, including Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor and Zero Dark Thirty’s Jason Clarke as her son, John, leader of the human resistance.
Terminator creator James Cameron, who oversaw the first two films in the saga, also gave the new movie his blessing after dismissing 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and 2009’s Terminator Salvation. But the film, directed by Game of Thrones regular Alan Taylor, received short shrift from critics, with The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw labelling it a “cynical franchisebot, machine-tooled to clank into cinemas and gouge money out of people”.
The Terminator saga’s apparent demise calls into question whether success at the Chinese box office can, after all, save creaking franchises from going under. The Guillermo Del Toro sci fi epic Pacific Rim was also expected to get a second instalment after doing surprisingly well in the world’s most populous nation two years ago, but according to recent reports now looks equally dead in the water.
Forbes magazine, which argues Terminator will rise again, suggests Hollywood studios receive only 20-30 per cent of receipts from Chinese cinemas, compared to roughly 50 per cent from other territories. Such a dynamic could explain why success in the US remains the gold standard for big budget fantasy fare.
