Terminator: Dark Fate’s strategy for home release was criticized by many reviewing the release, and that was due to the majority of the best special features being only on the digital copy of the movie.
The digital copies were released first; obviously with hopes of fans buying multiple copies once the physical release came around, with the bulk of the complete special features being on digital as an incentive not to wait around for the physical’s release first.
For the United States home release Terminator: Dark Fate took the number one slot for a week for Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks and top sales on Digital and Redbox On Demand. Dark Fate also debuted at number one for top selling disc and blu-ray.
Top 10 Movie Rentals for Week Ended 2-2-20 (United States):
| This Week’s Rank | Last Week’s Rank | Title | Street Date | Studio | Genre | Days Since Release | Box Office (Millions) |
| 1 | New | Terminator: Dark Fate | 1/28/20 | Paramount | Sci-Fi | 5 | $62.25 |
| 2 | 1 | Zombieland: Double Tap | 1/21/20 | Sony Pictures | Comedy | 12 | $73.12 |
| 3 | 2 | Gemini Man | 1/14/20 | Paramount | Action | 19 | $48.55 |
| 4 | 4 | Joker | 1/7/20 | Warner | Drama | 26 | $335.07 |
| 5 | New | Harriet | 1/28/20 | Universal | Drama | 5 | $43.08 |
| 6 | 5 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | 1/14/20 | Disney | Fantasy | 19 | $113.89 |
| 7 | 3 | The Addams Family (2019) | 1/21/20 | Universal | Animated | 12 | $97.19 |
| 8 | New | Motherless Brooklyn | 1/28/20 | Warner | Drama | 5 | $9.28 |
| 9 | 6 | Black and Blue | 1/21/20 | Sony Pictures | Drama | 12 | $22.06 |
| 10 | 7 | Countdown | 1/21/20 | Universal | Horror | 12 | $25.62 |
Top 10 Best Selling Blu-ray Discs for Week Ended 2-1-20 (United States):
| Rank | Previous Week | Title | Studio | Index* |
| 1 | New | Terminator: Dark Fate | Paramount | 100.00 |
| 2 | 1 | Zombieland: Double Tap | Sony Pictures | 36.70 |
| 3 | 2 | Joker | Warner | 25.70 |
| 4 | 3 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | Disney | 22.12 |
| 5 | New | Parasite | Universal | 20.14 |
| 6 | 4 | The Addams Family (2019) | Universal | 15.04 |
| 7 | New | Harriet | Universal | 12.82 |
| 8 | 6 | Gemini Man | Paramount | 12.63 |
| 9 | 7 | Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw | Universal | 11.66 |
| 10 | 5 | Jay & Silent Bob Reboot | Lionsgate | 11.48 |
Also worth noting is the early success of V.O.D and digital for Dark Fate on the FandangoNow platform and Microsoft Store‘s download to own, in which T:DF also had early number one positions.
In the UK Dark Fate debuted at number 3 for digital. This week however JOKER is now back on top – with T:DF dropping to number 4.
Terminator: Dark Fate’s physical home release on disc in the UK hit shelves on March 2nd 2020 and has a chance to try for a number one position again, just like the United States, though the competition thus far hasn’t been that strong.
Official UK Film Chart Top 10 (26 February 2020 – 03 March 2020):
| Pos | LW | Title, Artist | Peak Pos | WoC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | MALEFICENT – MISTRESS OF EVIL WALT DISNEY | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 1 | JOKER WARNER HOME VIDEO | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | New | TERMINATOR – DARK FATE 20TH CENTURY FOX HE | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 9 | GEMINI MAN PARAMOUNT | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 | DOWNTON ABBEY – THE MOVIE UNIVERSAL PICTURES | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | 4 | A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE – FARMAGEDDON STUDIOCANAL | 4 | 2 |
| 7 | 5 | ZOMBIELAND – DOUBLE TAPSONY PICTURES HE | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 6 | ABOMINABLE DREAMWORKS ANIMATION | 5 | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | THE LION KING WALT DISNEY | 1 | 13 |
| 10 | 15 | TOY STORY 4 WALT DISNEY | 1 | 17 |
An example of Terminator: Dark Fate’s competition in digital, home sales and rentals in the US and UK, are titles such as: Zombieland: Double Tap, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, DOWNTON ABBEY – THE MOVIE, Doctor Sleep, Gemini Man and Parasite to name a few but for Terminator: Dark Fate to have had such critical acclaim and widespread positive reviews from top news outlets but be unable to hold or attain higher positions in the charts; speaks volumes.
Many people who didn’t turn out for the theatrical release have been curious about the sixth Terminator movie and this has allowed Dark Fate some success on the home release market, which will please Dark Fate’s supporters; some fans of Dark Fate have even been buying up multiple copies of the movie to try and ensure a sequel.
Some countries have had delayed home releases, so success may continue in a slow drip fashion but even if Dark Fate attains top spots in other digital and disc charts – the trend of slowly being phased out by other movies as it drops away week by week looks set to continue.
Terminator: Dark Fate would be looking to recoup some serious monetary gains from home release, digital, V.O.D, rentals and merchandizing in order to make up the shortfall from the lackluster box office takings, and make Terminator 7 seem financially viable to Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media – but let’s not forget that David Ellison wanted “another bite of the apple” following the failure of Terminator Genisys so… maybe it’s not over just yet, even if that apple is now somewhat poisoned.
Will you be buying Dark Fate on digital of home release?
Do you think the revenue from home release sales can ensure a sequel to T:DF?
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Debut chart sources: US Chart – Top 20 Sellers | Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs | UK Chart