LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A new "Terminator" film, "Terminator: Dark Fate," led ticket sales at the North American box office with a soft 29 million U.S. dollars in its opening weekend.
The science fiction action film with a reported 185-million-U.S.-dollar budget is co-financed by Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, 20th Century Fox and Tencent Pictures which is the film and television arm of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Limited.
Tencent's co-financing share is reported to be 10 percent and is handling the distribution, marketing and merchandising of the film in China. It is the first collaboration between Tencent and Skydance since they entered into a partnership, with Tencent making a strategic investment in Skydance.
The film was released by Paramount Pictures in North America and 20th Century Fox outside of North America and China.
"Terminator: Dark Fate" is directed by Tim Miller and produced by James Cameron. It is the sixth installment in the "Terminator" franchise and a direct sequel to 1984's "The Terminator" and 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton reprised their iconic roles in the film as "The Terminator" and "Sarah Connor" from the first two installments directed by Cameron.
The latest "Terminator" film opened as the No.1 global release of the weekend, grossing 124 million dollars worldwide, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.
It opened with 198 million yuan (around 28.1 million dollars) at the box office in Chinese mainland this weekend, according to Chinese film database Maoyan.
"Terminator: Dark Fate" received a "B+" rating from moviegoers on CinemaScore and a 69-percent certified fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to date.
Warner Bros.' thriller film "Joker" moved to second place with 13.92 million dollars in its fifth weekend. The film has grossed 299.61 million dollars in North America for a global cume of 934 million dollars through Sunday.
It is already the all-time biggest R-rated film worldwide and considered an Oscar frontrunner in the coming awards season. Based on DC Comics characters, "Joker" is directed by Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role. The film follows the devolution of Arthur Fleck, a mentally ill failed stand-up comedian who turns into the killer-clown Joker.
Disney's "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" landed in third place with 12.17 million dollars in its third weekend for a North American total of 84.3 million dollars through Sunday.
The fantasy adventure film is a sequel to the 2014's "Maleficent" inspired by Charles Perrault's original fairy tale and Walt Disney's animated film "Sleeping Beauty." Directed by Joachim Ronning with Angelina Jolie returning to portray the title role, the film picks up several years after "Maleficent," in which audiences learned of the events that hardened the heart of Disney's most notorious villain and drove her to curse a baby Princess Aurora.
Focus Features' biographical film "Harriet" opened in fourth place with 12 million dollars. Directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Cynthia Erivo as American iconic abolitionist Harriet Tubman, the film tells the tale of Tubman who escaped slavery and devoted herself to the liberation of other enslaved people.
United Artists Releasing's animated family-friendly comedy "The Addams Family" finished fifth with 8.5 million dollars in its fourth weekend for a North American total of 85.3 million dollars. The film, directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, is based on the comics of the same name by Charles Addams.
