Box Office: ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ Stalls Overseas With $29 Million

Rebecca Rubin

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“Terminator: Dark Fate” faced another rocky weekend in theaters as the sixth entry in the sci-fi saga scraped together $29.9 million from 53 international markets.

Though the film is nearing the $200 million mark globally (worldwide ticket sales are currently at $199.4 million), “Dark Fate” still stands to be a major money loser for Paramount, Skydance and Disney, the studios backing the big-budget tentpole. Box office experts say the film needs to earn around $450 million to break even and could cost the studios over $100 million in theatrical losses.

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“Terminator: Dark Fate” is now open in 99% of international territories. (Disney is releasing the film overseas, aside from China, while Paramount is handing domestic distribution). The movie debuted in Japan this weekend with $6 million, as well as Taiwan with $1.4 million. China, where Tencent is rolling out the movie, is leading the way with $45 million in receipts after 10 days in theaters. Other top territories include Korea with $14.9 million and the United Kingdom with $8.3 million.

Roland Emmerich’s World War II epic “Midway” is spearheading the charge among new releases, generating $21.5 million from 21 markets. The film bowed with $17.5 million in North America for a global start of $39 million. Those ticket sales are uninspiring, however, considering the movie carries a massive $100 million price tag. Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans and Nick Jonas star in “Midway,” which brings the Battle of Midway back to the big screen for a new generation.

Elsewhere, Warner Bros.’ “Joker” had another solid showing, amassing $20 million from 79 international markets for a foreign haul of $671.2 million. The dark comic-book origin story, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix, has earned $984.7 million worldwide and is expected to smash the $1 billion benchmark next week. Outside of North America, “Joker” has enjoyed the strongest turnouts in the U.K. ($67.7 million), Mexico ($42.8 million), Japan ($40.9 million), France ($39.9 million) and Korea ($37.8 million).

Falling not far behind on international box office charts is Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.” The fantasy adventure with Angelina Jolie collected $19.9 million from 57 foreign markets, pushing its overseas tally to $333 million. “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” has pocketed $430 million globally, buoyed by China with $48.4 million, Russia with $31.6 million and Mexico with $22 million.

Warner Bros.’ Stephen King adaptation “Doctor Sleep” picked up a meager $13 million when it debuted in 68 territories, boosting ticket sales to $20 million internationally and $34.1 million globally. Russia had the biggest launch with $2 million, followed by Mexico with $1.5 million and Brazil with $577,000.

Universal’s “Last Christmas” opened in 10 foreign markets, where it made $3.1 million. It launched in Australia with $1.6 million, the Netherlands with $500,000 and Norway with $300,000. Domestically, the movie earned $11.6 million for a global total of $14.7 million. Inspired by George Michael’s music, “Last Christmas” stars Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding and was directed by Paul Feig.

Paramount’s family comedy “Playing With Fire” also kicked off this weekend, raking in $2.5 million from 10 markets, representing 24% of its international footprint. Mexico had the best start with $1.1 million. The John Cena-led movie debuted in North America with $12.8 million, lifting its global total to $15.3 million.

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