Sony puts in last gasp bid for TERMINATOR franchise

If Sony manage to win the rights to the Terminator series right from under the noses of Lionsgate when the license auction begins on Monday - then maybe, just maybe, the days of the summer event Skynet movie aren't dead just yet. Sony, unlike Lionsgate, are a major Hollywood studio. They are the home of the Spider-Man series, and they have the financial backing and a much deeper pockets to think big, much bigger than Lionsgate could ever dream of doing. Last year, Sony owned the international distribution rights to Terminator Salvation which made a lacklustre $125 million domestic, but fared much better overseas with nearly twice that figure. It's that kind of haul that has probably given Sony the idea that there could be a beating heart left in the man vs. machine war and if they can just connect all the pieces together, much like Paramount did with Star Trek, then the thinking is that this could prove to be a healthy investment somewhere down the road. Lionsgate previously bid $15 million and a 5% cut of future gross receipts to obtain the rights to future Terminator movies, TV shows, DVDs and merchandise. No other studio in town seems game for it - even though they could do whatever they wanted with it (reboot, remake, sequel, prequel, etc).