Arnold Schwarzenegger once promised “I’ll be back” and with this weekend’s “Terminator Genisys” the actor returns the role that made him famous.
“Genisys,” which opened Wednesday, is looking at a roughly $50 million projected debut over the five-day Fourth of July weekend, according to analysts.
Much like the summer’s biggest movie, “Jurassic World,” the film looks to cash in on the nostalgia from the Terminator series, which has made $518.5 million in the U.S. since 1984 when “The Terminator” first came back through time, according to Rentrak.
However, the fifth film in the series, “Genisys,” may need Schwarzenegger to save the day due to some bumpy buzz.
Its trailer gave away one of the film’s twists (something that reportedly even the director wasn’t happy about), and it doesn’t help that it has a 25% rotten rating on reviews site “Rotten Tomatoes.”
“It’s an example of a lot of things not clicking,” said Phil Contrino, chief box office analyst at BoxOffice.com. “I don’t think fans are excited about it.”
However, Schwarzenegger, 67, is one of the biggest (figuratively and literally) stars in the history of Hollywood with his films totaling almost $2 billion at the U.S. box office over a nearly 40 year career.
“Genisys” also stars Emilia Clarke in her first big role away from playing Daenerys Targaryen on the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” The popularity of “Thrones” could ultimately give the film a boost.
Away from battling Skynet, Schwarzenegger and company will also have to deal with dancing male strippers as “Magic Mike XXL” also hits theaters this weekend.
The sequel to the popular 2012 film starring Channing Tatum has a built-in fan base and is projected to take on Arnold for the #1 spot.
Away from bad buzz, the “Terminator” franchise looks to show that it’s far from being terminated at the box office this weekend.
“It hasn’t aged well,” Contrino added. “But if you say a new ‘Terminator’ is coming out then people are curious, and that’s something you really can’t put a price on.”
