The James Cameron name used to signal incredible quality. From “Terminator” to “Avatar,” if you saw the filmmaker attached to a project, you knew that there was going to be something interesting going on. But that all changed with “Terminator: Genisys.” While Cameron didn’t write or direct ‘Genisys,’ he was out making the publicity rounds, giving the reboot-quel his seal of approval. And we all know how that turned out. Oof. So, forgive us if we aren’t overly excited about the forthcoming “Terminator 6,” even though star Arnold Schwarzenegger is once again saying the film carries a lot of James Cameron’s ideas.
READ MORE: James Cameron Reveals ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ Working Title & More Details
Speaking to The Arnold Fans, the actor was asked about what it was like working with director Tim Miller (“Deadpool”) and James Cameron (yes, he’s actually hands-on with this sequel).
“It was a very interesting film to do with Tim, the dynamic, between him and with Jim Cameron producing,” said Schwarzenegger. “So Jim Cameron is right now directing ‘Avatar’ films so he’s taken on this enormous challenge and he’s very busy with that BUT he’s a control freak and as you know, ‘Terminator’ is kind of his baby so he does get involved in the filming so there were interesting discussions about which direction to go with a certain scene or how the dialogue should finish or what the certain look should be of an individual and all that stuff so there was a big collaboration between Jim and Tim Miller. I feel it was in good hands with both of them.”
This sure does sound like Cameron is thoroughly involved with the upcoming sequel. Unlike ‘Genisys,’ where he just gave the thumbs up, “Terminator 6” apparently features a lot of Cameron input from the early stages, through filming.
While we don’t know if the Miller-directed sequel will be any good, it’s clear that “Terminator 6” definitely has enough of a budget. Arnold also revealed that the production budget for the sequel is between $160 million and $200 million, with VFX work still being done. To put that in perspective, “Captain Marvel,” which features the lead character literally flying in space and punching spaceships, only cost $152 million, reportedly. And the aforementioned ‘Genisys’ cost approximately $155 million, earning only $440 million worldwide.
Obviously, $440 million sounds like a lot of money, but when you consider that the actual cost for a film is the budget + marketing (which normally doubles the budget), you’re looking at a reality that “Terminator 6” might actually cost upwards of $350 million. And when you take into account the fact that studios only receive about 50% of ticket sales, that means the upcoming sequel will likely have to make roughly $700 million to turn a profit at the box office. That’s a steep hill to climb for any film, let alone the sixth film in a franchise that hasn’t had success since Cameron’s ‘T2.’
“Terminator 6” hits theaters November 1.
