Terminator: Genisys was supposed to be the first entry in a new trilogy of Terminator movies, there was just one problem: despite it being a good entry into the franchise (according to Kervyn) it didn’t quite engulf the US box office in a nuclear fire – it only made around $90 million in revenue from an estimated production cost of $155 million; usually a death knell to any potential franchise hopes.
However while the movie didn’t perform as well as expected in the US it brought in a considerable chunk of change internationally – some $350 million to be exact – and a substantial portion of that came from the rapidly increasing Chinese box office, and that could just be what keeps the franchise alive.
At a recent conference hosted by The Wrap (and via Collider) Skydance Production’s Chief Creative Officer Dana Goldberg spoke briefly about the future of the franchise, essentially confirming the above speculation by saying that the franchise wasn’t “on hold, so much as re-adjusting”.
He acknowledged the importance of the international market to the franchise saying:
Happily, we live in the world where the domestic number had a level of importance 10 or 15 years ago — I’m not saying it’s not important, it is — but we have to play to a worldwide market. In terms of Terminator, the worldwide market paid attention, but we’re not taking the domestic number lightly.
It’s a growing trend that I think is quite healthy for the industry as it reduces their reliance on a single movie-going market. Recent blockbusters, like Transformers: Age of Extinction (and Darryn’s favourite Transformers movie) and Avengers: Age of Ultron, have also included scenes specifically shot for the Chinese market – showing that the industry has noticed the trend and is keen to exploit opportunities in the international market. He continued:
[We will use] data and research to do a worldwide study and really talk to audiences about what they loved, and what maybe didn’t work for them, so that the next we take with the franchise is the right one.
This will obviously lead to delays in producing a (potential) new Terminator movie (although he didn’t mention anything about the proposed new TV series), but there is cause for optimism for fans of the franchise – particularly as he gave a brief teaser for the future…
Last Updated: October 7, 2015
CypherGate
October 8, 2015 at 16:26
I thought Terminator Genisys was brilliant. Im surprised it didnt do so well in their local market. Globally not bad though. I think many might still be hurt from the previous Terminator Salvation movie. Hopefully this new one has set a new standard and excitement for the franchise. I know it did that for me!