Warner Bros. Snags 'Terminator'

Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2001 at 3:13 PM Central

by John Couture

For a hefty $50 million, Warner Bros. has secured the rights to one of the most highly anticipated sequels of all time. Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines is expected to be the most expensive movie ever greenlit with a budget between $150 and $180 million.

The costs are already building. It was announced earlier this week that Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to reprise his trademark role for a cool $30 million, making him one of the highest paid actors of all time. Edward Furlong and Vin Diesel are rumored to be returning and joining the cast, respectively, which is bound to expand the budget greatly.

All of the major studios held a bidding war this week over the domestic distribution rights for T3 before Warner Bros. emerged victorious. Warner Bros. now has three key movies set for release in 2003; The Matrix: Reloaded in May, T3 in July and either The Matrix: Revolutions or the third Harry Potter movie in November.