'Terminator: Dark Fate': What makes a franchise live or die?
On the surface, "Terminator: Dark Fate" and "Joker" share basic similarities: both are R-rated movies based on well-known characters that appeal to predominantly male audiences. Further, the films got virtually identical Rotten Tomatoes scores.
But the box office results could not be more different.
The Warner Bros.-DC film "Joker," made for $60 million, became a global phenomenon, grossing nearly $940 million worldwide. The latest "Terminator" movie, which cost at least $185 million to produce, landed with a thud, grossing $29 million domestically, well below studio expectations. It did little better internationally, collecting a modest $28 million in China.
Major movie studios have been under pressure to mine their film libraries
