'Terminator: Dark Fate' Could Spell Judgment Day For The Franchise After Bombing At The Box Office

Terminator: Dark Fate's title might become a self-fulfilling prophecy for the franchise. The sixth Terminator film (third chronologically) bombed at the box office on its opening weekend, taking the No. 1 spot on the charts but raking in a measly $29 million in North America and $102 million overseas — not nearly enough to make back its $185 million budget. The Terminator Dark Fate box office could ultimately end up costing its studios over $100 million.

Judgment Day may come soon for this franchise. After a poor opening weekend at the box office, Terminator: Dark Fate could be a $100 million bomb for Paramount, Skydance and Disney, the studios backing the big-budget blockbuster.

The film opened to a meager $29 million domestically and $102 million overseas, according to Variety, which reports that the film may not make it past the $70 million mark at the U.S. box office. In order for Dark Fate to make a profit, it would have to gross at least $450 million worldwide. For comparison, 2015's Terminator: Genisys ended its run with $440 million worldwide. But analysts tell Variety that Dark Fate's final worldwide gross could be between $180 million and $200 million.

That's bad news for the costly sci-fi film, which had a $185 million production budget, plus $80 million to $100 million in global marketing and distribution fees. That could incur the studios up to even a $120 million loss, according to IndieWire. However, it's possible that Dark Fate could make back some of that money through TV and streaming license deals, as well as home video sales. Another silver lining behind this loss is that Terminator: Dark Fate was co-financed by three studios, with Disney via 20th Century Fox, so the film's losses won't be entirely dumped on Paramount.

Terminator: Dark Fate is directed by Tim Miller and stars Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Gabriel Luna, and Natalia Reyes.