1991’s ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ broke new ground as the first major motion picture to employ CGI morphing technology for the shape-shifting T-1000 robot played by Robert Patrick.  Those eye-popping effects wowed audiences in standard 2D, but are sure to really impress in 3D and now audiences will get the chance to see it that way.  Director James Cameron saw success with the 3D re-release of ‘Titanic’ which isn’t even an FX-heavy movie.  But the result was apparently pleasing enough for him that he’s turning his attention to a more visually intense film, ‘Terminator 2’ which will be re-released in theaters in 2016, on its 25th anniversary.

At the time, the film’s $102 million budget was the highest ever.  It grossed $204.8M in the U.S. and Canada and $519.8M worldwide, making it the top-grossing film of the year.  It currently stands as the 110th highest earning movie of all time and any cash made on this re-release will be factored into those numbers, just as it was for ‘Titanic’.

Cameron will be working with DMG Entertainment and Tudiocanal to convert ‘T2’ to 3D, employing state of the art technology by StereoD.  DMG has a branch in China and will be working with the China Film Group and in fact, it’s possible that the new 3D version of the film will see a release in China before the U.S. and other territories.  In recent years, the Chinese audience has become increasingly important, with ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ also being a joint project with the highest populated country.

In 2014, Cameron made this statement:

“If there was someone who was interested in doing that, and we could make a good case for the business model like, perhaps let’s say, it’s never been on screens in China which in the next few years is about to become the biggest market for films worldwide. That alone might justify the cost of a conversion which might be 6 or 7 million dollars. And then a 3D re-release might attract some eyeballs in North American and Europe and then the Chinese release, which would be the first release on the big screen, might pay for it.I’m just using that as an example.

I’m just saying we’re not ruling it out. We’re looking at it.”

Indeed, six or seven million to retool an old movie for a brand new audience that hasn’t seen it on the big screen certainly makes financial sense.  It could, in many ways, atone for ‘Terminator: Genisys’ this year’s massive flop that earned $89M in the U.S.  Curt when China and the rest of the world are factored in, the movie wound up making $350M.

Since Paramount has placed any additional ‘Terminator’ movies on hold, since ‘Genisys’ failed to make back its budget in the U.S.  A rerelease of the best movie in the franchise would not only satisfy new audiences, but would keep fans of the brand satisfied and possibly even rekindle interest, which ‘Genisys’ failed to do.

DMG CEO Dan Mintz added:

“For a whole new generation of fans, it is truly a chance to see the movie that really set the bar for action and effects that all the movies today are trying to top, in a completely new way — in the theater and in 3D. We are committed to making the conversion the highest quality in order to live up to the expectations of the film’s many fans around the world.”

Are you intrigued to see ‘Terminator 2’ in 3D on the big screen?  Do you think film fans will be interested in seeing a 25-year-old movie, in a crowded field of new flicks?

Source: /Film