'Terminator' salvages as $13.37 million opening day

Christian Bale hopes he has a second franchise on his hands with "Terminator: Salvation."

Credit: Warner Bros.

It was a solid, but not spectacular opening day for "Terminator: Salvation."  The fourth installment in the franchise opened to $13.37 million at the box office. 

The McG directed action flick kicked things off a day before the traditional Memorial Day weekend moviegoing begins and allowed itself one frame before going up against "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" which opens today.  Friday's take will truly tell the tale, but "Salvation" is looking for anywhere between $65-75 million over the next five days.  Based on pre-release tracking, "Smithsonian" is also looking at close to $70 million for the weekend.

While Warner Bros. no doubt wants "Terminator" to be a blockbuster, more nervous are the folks at The Halcyon Company who independently financed the picture and whose company's survival depends on the film's performance.  For comparison,  "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" opened to $44 million when it opened on July 2, 2003.  The final installment featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the original Terminator robot grossed $433 million worldwide.  "Salvation" may be looking at a similar scenario where it makes most of his profit overseas.

Also hitting the nation's theaters today is the Wayans Brothers spoof "Dance Flick."  In limited release, Jessica Biel's period romantic comedy "Easy Virtue" and Steven Soderbergh's "The Girlfriend Experience" debut as alternative fare.  "Brothers Bloom" also expands into 22 new markets. 

Look for more box office results throughout the weekend on HitFIx.