The still yet to be disproven axiom “get woke, go broke” chalked up another win for itself this weekend with the underwhelming box office performance of the ultra-feminist “Terminator: Dark Fate.”
Despite the return of producer James Cameron and the reunion of Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forbes reports that the sci-fi action sequel pulled in a horrific $10.6 million on Friday and is now tracking for a lousy $27 million opening weekend on an inflated budget of $185 million (not including another $100 million in marketing costs). That makes it the lowest profiting “Terminator” in the franchise’s history.
Forbes has more:
Terminator: Dark Fate faced judgment day once again yesterday, earning just $10.6 million on Friday. The sci-fi sequel … was the third attempt to revive the Terminator series in a decade. McG’s Terminator: Salvation, a future war sequel starring Christian Bale, earned just $125 million domestic and $375 million on a $200 million budget. Alan Taylor’s Terminator: Genisys, a time-twisting retcon that paired Schwarzenegger with Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney, earned $89 million domestic and $441 million worldwide on a $155 million budget, including $113 million in China.
So, how did this happen? How could one of the most beloved sci-fi action franchises in movie history become such a flop? According to Society Reviews, “Terminator: Dark Fate” flips everything people loved about Sarah Connor’s story on its head in the name of third-wave feminism, rendering the events of T1 and T2 meaningless:
Let’s not beat around the bush, Terminator Dark Fate is an unoriginal disgrace on just about every level. The very fiber of this film comes off as someone who is ashamed that the foundation of this franchise does not fit their current day intersectional feminist worldview, so they decided to change it by repealing and replacing everything they felt was problematic with more progressive friendly elements.
Let’s start with John Connor. The character who is the primary protagonist of the Terminator franchise is killed minutes into the film and is completely removed from the equation only to be replaced by the new hero of Daniella “Dani” Ramos. This is why progressive think tanks are killing cinema and entertainment as we know it. Because in the world of intersectionality, the only thing they see is a white male action star who just doesn’t fit the bill of the modern Hollywood diversity and inclusion agenda so he must be replaced. If you thought it was bad enough that they made John a villain in the last movie, the progressive Gods decided it was time for him to die thus rendering the plot of multiple films completely and utterly useless.
Brutal.
And even the film critics agree, awarding the movie a tepid 69% on Rotten Tomatoes with a current IMDB score of just 6.6. Aside from the politics, the consensus is that “Terminator: Dark Fate” treads no new territory and treads it rather lightly.
“There are more than enough ingredients here to cook up one rousing and thought-provoking sci-fi thriller. Except this time around, they’re just serving up overcooked leftovers,” wrote Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“The visual effects are consistently the strongest part of Dark Fate. But they’re in the service of a blockbuster that is relentless in its one-note intensity,” wrote Christy Lemire.
Unless hidden in the bowers of Hollywood lies an eager filmmaker with a fresh take on this classic, the “Terminator” franchise has truly met its judgement day.