Will the Terminator be back, thanks to China?

TerminatorBy Gavin Aug 28, 2015Comments

Terminator Genisys. Very rarely has such a movie had such a hard time from fans and critics. First there was the highly secretive filming, then the ill received leaked script (which turned out to be genuine), the constant name changing of the films title, the first trailers which failed to ignite serious interest before going on to reveal 95% of the films convulted narrative, the reshoot of a scene that only lasts a minute on screen, then the script leaked again, and then finally the film was released to an unimpressed and bewildered audience that spotted every mistake and every plot hole, and saw through the films lazily compiled second half.

Don't get us wrong, Terminator Genisys as a science fiction action movie is watchable, but it would be stretching it to say that Genisys is, as creator James Cameron claimed in his promo for the movie, a worthy successor to The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Kudos to Skydance Productions and Paramount Pictures for making such a bold movie, but with a franchise so beloved by fans, and with the first two instalments recognized as cultural icons, one would have least expected the Ellison's (siblings Megan and David), writers Patrick Lussier and Laeta Kalogridis and director Alan Taylor to research every nuance of the franchise, leaving no metallic skull unturned when attempting to revitalise the franchise by re-creating such a bold new timeline.

Has Terminator joined the likes of the all female Ghostbusters and 2014's RoboCop - movies no one wanted?

Ultimately the audacity of the filmmakers to retcon out of the franchise the only two worthwhile instalments resulted in barely lukewarm box office takings in both the US and Europe, but it seems the Chinese market, which has become a major movie distribution territory in recent years, may save Terminator Genisys from obscurity. So far Genisys has performed poorly across all territories, only accumulating Box Office takings of $236 million against a budget of $155 million before its release in China last weekend. In the space of a week China has raised the movies takings by nearly $27 million, making China the movies second most lucrative market after its native USA, where it raise only $89 million.

Recently fans and critics sighed a breath of relief when Paramount Pictures confirmed that their previous plans for a trilogy and TV series based off Terminator Genisys were put "on hold". But with Paramount and the Ellisons having recuperated their investment and the movie now making a profit, thanks to Chinese audiences those plans could be resurrected, regardless of the overwhelming negativity the movie has recieved.