Terminator 2: Judgment Day is once again returning to theaters. StudioCanal, the current rightsholder for the original Terminator (1984) and the sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), announced at CinemaCon this week that the blockbuster film will celebrate its 35th anniversary with a theatrical re-release.
Originally released in theaters in 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a massive blockbuster, grossing $520 million worldwide on about a $100 million budget, which was huge for its time. It was one of the highest-grossing movies of 1991 and now viewed as one of the most iconic action films of all time.
The movie starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, reprising his role as the T-800, aka The Terminator. Though in a major twist compared to the first movie, he's been reprogrammed and sent back in time to defend John Connor.
Terminator 2 also saw Linda Hamilton return as Sarah Connor. Her transformation from the first film was perhaps even more noticeable and groundbreaking as she broke the traditional mold for female action characters at the time.
Whereas in the first movie Sarah Connor is an ordinary young woman being hunted by the Terminator, the sequel sees her transformed into a hardened survivalist who has spent years preparing for the coming war against machines. Hamilton's performance was widely praised at the time and even today, T2's Sarah Connor is considered one of the most iconic action heroines in movie history.
In 1997 the survivors of the nuclear apocalypse fight a merciless war against the robots and machines they created. To finally kill John Connor, the leader of the human resistance, two "cyborgs" are sent to the past. Their mission: kill Connor when he is a child. The first model of the "Terminator" series failed in 1984. The second model made of changeable liquid is more advanced and embarks on a pursuit of the child and his mother, Sarah, in the 1990's. The men of the future have sent a Terminator to protect young Connor. The duel between the robots will take on titanic dimensions. While the child teaches the Terminator about humanity, his mother tries to prevent the creation of the first intelligent machines. With the Terminator they have educated they will fight to change the future.
The success of Terminator 2 launched a global franchise, but the sequels that followed were never able to replicate its box office performance. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines still performed well commercially, earning around $430 million worldwide, but it didn't quite have the same impact as its predecessor. From there, Terminator Salvation, Terminator Genisys, and Terminator Dark Fate all pretty much underperformed expectations, both critically and commercially.
For those who grew up in the 90s, this will be your chance to re-experience the action blockbuster one more time on the big screen. For those of you born in the 2000s, this is definitely a movie worth watching on the big screen.