Paramount and Skydance’s Terminator: Dark Fate is stalling in its U.S. debut, grossing a disheartening $10.6 million on Friday for a projected $27 million dollar weekend.
Friday’s gross inludes $2.35 million in Thursday previews.
The direct sequel to Terminator: Judgment Day (1991) is directed by Deadpool helmer Tim Miller and produced by James Cameron, creator of the the original Terminator franchise. The movie, playing in 4,086 theaters, seems to be infected with a case of sequelitis despite earning generally positive reviews and a B+ CinemaScore from audiences.
The R-rated movie reunites Cameron with original stars Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who join new franchise actors Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna and Diego Boneta.
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Heading into the weekend, Dark Fate was tracking to open in the high $30 million to low $40 million range domestically. Overseas, where Disney is releasing the November tentpole, it opens in a raft of major markets, including China. In North America, it rolls out in more than 4,000 theaters, including Imax locales.
Elsewhere, Harriet and Motherless Brooklyn also open nationwide after making the rounds at the fall film festivals.
From Focus Features, Harriet stars Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman, the courageous Underground Railroad conductor who became a hero of the anti-slavery movement. Kasi Lemmons directs the bio-drama.
Harriet, playing in 2,059 theaters, grossed an estimated $3.9 million on Friday for a pleasing debut of $10.9 million.
Warner Bros.’ Motherless Brooklyn, directed by Edward Norton, isn’t so lucky. The film, opting for a more modest footprint, or 1,332 theaters, opened to $1 million on Friday for a domestic debut of $3.2 million, behind expectations.
The adaptation of the Jonathan Lethem novel about a New York detective with Tourette’s syndrome stars Norton alongside Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
The fourth new nationwide release is the indie family film, Arctic Dogs, from Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios. The movie isn’t showing much of a bite, and is on course for a launch in the $2.9 million range.
Another high-profile title hitting select cinemas this weekend is Martin Scorsese’s mob pic The Irishman. Netflix has major Oscar ambitions for the pic, which will premiere on the streamer on Nov. 27. Netflix doesn’t report grosses for its original movies. The Irishman is debuting in three theaters in New York City and five in Los Angeles, including the Landmark and the new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Downtown and the Egyptian (Netflix is in the midst of a deal to buy the historic Hollywood theater).
Elsewhere, Warners’ Joker will cross the $900M at the global box office sometime today or Sunday.
Nov. 1, 1:15 p.m. Updated with Friday estimates and weekend projections.
Nov. 2, 8 a.m. Updated with Friday grosses and revised weekend projections.
