It flopped in theaters. Critics and fans weren’t impressed. But now, Terminator: Dark Fate is finally back and in the black.
While talking about how he wants to be a part of the MCU’s X-Men reboot, director Tim Miller recently reflected on his Terminator movie, saying that while Dark Fate wasn’t a box office hit at the time of release, it has now turned a profit:
Even though [Dark Fate] wasn’t as financially successful at the time, it’s in the black now.
The 2019 film was released with a massive budget of $185 million, but only managed to earn $261 million at the global box office, which didn’t come close to breaking even once marketing and studio splits were factored in. At the time, it was widely considered a bomb.
Mediocre Reviews Didn’t Help
Reception was lukewarm across the board. Critics gave Dark Fate a 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while fans rated it at 82%, decent, but far from the acclaim of earlier franchise entries like T2.
Many longtime Terminator fans were also divided on the film’s direction, especially with the franchise trying to course-correct after multiple failed reboots.
The Plot
Dark Fate served as a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, ignoring the events of the other sequels.
The story follows a new target: Dani Ramos, a factory worker in Mexico City, hunted by a deadly new model of Terminator called the Rev-9. Sent from the future to protect her is Grace, a human-cyborg hybrid. The two team up with Sarah Connor and a reprogrammed T-800, bringing back franchise icons Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It Took a While, But It Paid Off
Since the movie bombed at the box office, we can guess the film’s current success is due to ancillary revenues from streaming deals, licensing, and/or international sales, as Miller says that Terminator: Dark Fate is now profitable.
The same recently happened with DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which also bombed in theaters, but WB recently confirmed it was a home entertainment winner.
What’s next for Terminator?
While Terminator: Dark Fate is now considered an apparent success, that doesn’t mean it’s getting a sequel.
The latest is that last year James Cameron has said he’s involved with a secret Terminator project.
Fans can also play as the Terminator in Mortal Kombat.
Netflix also released the Terminator Zero anime last year.
