Hedge fund Pacificor win TERMINATOR auction, future as unclear as ever

The auction for the rights to the Terminator series lasted five hours yesterday between 3pm and 5pm - and neither of the front-runners Sony Pictures or Lionsgate came out victorious. In the end it was Santa Barbara-based hedge fund Pacificor, the debtholder who pushed previous owners Halcyon into bankruptcy. The final bid was said to be $29.95 million, and Nikki Finke has reports that the major Hollywood studios backed out when it became obvious Pacificor weren't letting anyone else get their hands on the property. As part of the deal, Halcyon will receive $5 million per every new Terminator movie greenlit, and will keep all future revenue earned from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation. The sale also wipes out the debt Halcyon owed to Pacificor and it sure looks like this whole auction was actually a ruse for Pacificor to become the rights holder. Where this leaves the Terminator series is anyone's guess but despite Terminator Salvation's domestic box office troubles, the $380 million worldwide cume for the last moviemust be noteworthy for a new movie to be made. Just don't expect it to be a near $200 million blockbuster next time - think more like $80-$100 million.