Editing The Terminator (section)

==Release==
[[File:President Ronald Reagan with Arnold Schwarzenegger Retouched (cropped).jpg|thumb|Schwarzenegger with President [[Ronald Reagan]] two months before ''The Terminator''{{'}}s premiere in 1984]]
Orion Pictures did not have faith in ''The Terminator'' performing well at the box office and feared a negative critical reception.{{sfn|Keegan|2009|p=53}} At an early screening of the film, the actors' agents insisted to the producers that the film should be screened for critics.<ref name="OV-Hurd" /> Orion only held one press screening for the film.{{sfn|Keegan|2009|p=53}} The film premiered on October 26, 1984. On its opening week, ''The Terminator'' played at 1,005 theaters and grossed $4.0 million making it number one at the box office. The film remained at number one in its second week. It lost its number one spot in the third week to ''[[Oh, God! You Devil]]''.<ref name="TheNumbers">{{Cite The Numbers|id=Terminator-The|title=The Terminator|access-date=February 3, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/charts/weekly/1984/19841109.php |title=The Top Movies, Weekend of November 9, 1984 |work=The Numbers |access-date=September 19, 2010 |archive-date=September 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927041357/http://www.the-numbers.com/charts/weekly/1984/19841109.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Cameron noted that ''The Terminator'' was a hit "relative to its market, which is between the summer and the Christmas blockbusters. But it's better to be a big fish in a small pond than the other way around."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tri-cityherald.newspapers.com/image/821061161/?match=1&terms=terminator|title='The Terminator' surprises the critics; is a top grosser |work=[[Tri City Herald]] |access-date=September 19, 2010 |date=November 30, 1984|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}{{subscription required}}</ref> ''The Terminator'' grossed $38.3 million in the United States and Canada and $40 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $78.3 million.<ref name="Mojo"/>