NEW YORK - "Old, but not obsolete." Arnold Schwarzenegger repeatedly deadpanned that line in Terminator Genisys, which opened last Wednesday, but a lot of moviegoers in North America decided otherwise.
Terminator Genisys, which cost Skydance Media and Paramount Pictures at least US$155 million (S$209 million) to make, took in an estimated US$28.7 million over the weekend, for a five-day total of US$44.2 million, according to Rentrak, which compiles box-office data. Paramount had hoped for a five-day total of US$50 million to US$55 million.
The opening box-office results for the movie, which returned Schwarzenegger to his signature cyborg role, were among the worst in the five-movie Terminator series, which began in 1984.
The movie did much better overseas, where Schwarzenegger's star power is brighter; Terminator Genisys has taken in US$85.5 million from partial release in international markets, Paramount said.
Bad reviews likely played a role in the United States and Canada, but Terminator Genisys also ran into stronger-than-expected competition.
The No. 1 movie over the Fourth of July weekend was Jurassic World (Universal Pictures), which collected about US$30.9 million, for a four-week domestic total of US$558.2 million. Pixar's Inside Out (Walt Disney Studios) was a close second, selling about US$30.1 million in tickets, for a three-week domestic total of US$246.2 million.
Then came Terminator Genisys, followed by another new underperforming wide release: Magic Mike XXL (Warner Bros), a dance- themed drama about a former stripper starring Channing Tatum, took in about US$12 million, for a total since opening Wednesday of US$27.1 million.
That performance was also weak - the first Magic Mike had opening-weekend sales of US$39.1 million in 2012 - but the sequel cost only about US$15 million to make.
Also of note: Amy, a documentary about the singer Amy Winehouse, who died of alcohol poisoning in 2011, took in US$222,015 from just six theatres, one of the best limited debuts of the year.
NEW YORK TIMES
