This summer's Terminator: Genisys was supposed to be a fresh start for the beleaguered action franchise. Emilia Clarke and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who fronted the reboot/sequel of James Cameron's classic, turned the series' already convoluted time travel elements upside down, setting the stage for a new batch of movies.
However, it looks like any hope of an extended Terminator universe is on the back burner for now, due to Genisys' lackluster performance at the global box office. The Hollywood Reporter has just published an extensive piece detailing the production's ambitious beginnings and eventual decline.
Skydance Productions' David Ellison, the film's chief backer and creative head, outlined plans for a Terminator 'universe' of movies and TV series that would rival the likes of Marvel. Unfortunately, all those plans are on indefinite hold following the soft reception from movie goers.
Genisys stumbled out of the gate with a $27 million opening at the US box office. It would never recover, raking in just $90 million in the states during its run in theatres. The film did fare better internationally taking home $350 million. Nearly a third of that figure came from China, which accounted for $112 million of global box office receipts.
All-in-all Genisys walked away with $440 million - an okay figure for a long dormant franchise, but not enough to make up its $150 million budget and additional promotion costs.
The film was also savaged by critics, earning a score of 38 over 100 from review aggregator Metacritc.
'...the film just lumbers along, often tediously; there's no sense that the scenario has been carefully kneaded, structured and shaped by attentive dramatists. Visually, we've seen these images - or many like them - so many times before...'
It looks like Skynet and the machines have been shut down for good.
