'Terminator: Dark Fate' could lose over £90 million after disastrous US opening weekend

The fate looks dark for Terminator: Dark Fate.

Film number six in the long-running Terminator franchise debuted in the US this weekend to a potentially disastrous $29 million – around £22.4 million.

While anything in the tens of millions sounds decent enough, box offices receipts tend not to get better after opening weekend, and director Tim Miller's movie has some way to go before profit.

And according to analysts, that is a dim and distant likelihood.

The movie's sturdy production budget landed at around $180 million, not taking into consideration huge budgets on marketing and advertising.

In all, the movie, which landed in the UK last week, has made just $123.6 million worldwide, with an equally disappointing $28 million coming from China.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, this puts potential losses in the region of between $110 million and at worst $130 million.

Read more: Dark Fate stars on movie’s female relationships

The problem now hauls in Disney, as it's now on the hook for some of the losses, having acquired all of Fox's movies in its takeover earlier this year.

Skydance and Paramount also put in equal shares of cash, with Chinese studio Tencent picking up the final 10 percent.

It was hoped that with James Cameron on board as producer - who insisted that the films after his own Terminator 2: Judgement Day were wiped from the record in this new timeline - that the franchise could be reinvigorated after several disappointing instalments since.

But it seems Cameron and Deadpool director Tim Miller, plus the return of Linda Hamilton, could not whip up the necessary enthusiasm.

Cameron said during press sessions for the movie that this was the first in a potential trilogy of movies.

Whether the remaining to chapters make it to the screen now feels in doubt.

Terminator: Dark Fate is in cinemas now.