Terminator Movies Ranked: Best to Worst
Terminator movies ranked from best to worst: Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator, Terminator: Dark Fate, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation and, in last place, Terminator Genisys. James Cameron directed the two at the top, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) also took $519 million worldwide on a $102 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. Every placing is Priya Nair's opinion, and the reasoning for each is given.
Key Takeaways
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) is the best Terminator movie in this ranking, and it is also the highest grossing film in the series at $519 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
- James Cameron directed the top two films, The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and no later director has matched both his pacing and his sense of dread.
- Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) ranks third on story and character, even though it has the lowest worldwide gross of the five sequels at $261 million.
- Terminator Genisys (2015) ranks last because it rewrites the 1984 story more than it builds on it, not because it lost money (it made $441 million worldwide on a $155 million budget).
Hot Takes
- Opinion, Priya Nair: Terminator: Dark Fate is the best of the films James Cameron did not direct, and it is closer to a true third film than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ever was.
- Opinion, Priya Nair: The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are closer in quality than the order suggests, and I could be talked into swapping them on a different day.
- Opinion, Priya Nair: Terminator Genisys is the weakest film in the saga, but its premise of a Sarah Connor raised by a reprogrammed Terminator deserved a better script.
Opinion, by Priya Nair.
- 1
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day ranks first because it reverses the first film and gives the saga its strongest human core. In my opinion, the shopping mall chase and the bond between Linda Hamilton's Sarah, Edward Furlong's John and the reprogrammed Terminator have not been matched since.
- 2
The Terminator
The Terminator ranks second because it is the tightest chase film in the saga, with Michael Biehn's Kyle Reese racing a cyborg assassin to Sarah Connor, and Brad Fiedel's score still defines how the saga sounds. I place it behind Terminator 2: Judgment Day only because the sequel widens the story without losing the sense of pursuit.
- 3
Terminator: Dark Fate
Terminator: Dark Fate ranks third because it has the strongest characters of the later films. In my opinion, Mackenzie Davis as Grace is the best new character since the T-1000, and its low gross says more about timing than about the film.
- 4
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ranks fourth because it is a competent chase film that lacks both James Cameron and Linda Hamilton. To my mind, it is the most straightforward of the sequels, with the T-X, played by Kristanna Loken, chasing John Connor and Kate Brewster.
- 5
Terminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation ranks fifth because it has the right idea, a film set mainly in the war against Skynet, but a script that never fully uses it. In my opinion, the story is more interested in Sam Worthington's Marcus Wright than in Christian Bale's John Connor, which leaves the billed lead with less to do.
- 6
Terminator Genisys
Terminator Genisys ranks last because it reworks the 1984 story more than it builds on it. In my opinion, the premise of a Sarah Connor raised by a reprogrammed Terminator is lively, but the dread of 1984 turns into a puzzle about timelines.
Terminator Movies Ranked: How I Judged All Six Films
I ranked the six Terminator films on four things: how well the story holds together, how the set pieces and effects work on screen, how each film treats the timeline set up by the first two, and how it earned its money against its cost. That is an opinion framework, so a different weighting would shuffle the middle of the list, but I think the top and the bottom are fairly stable.
The order is: 1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), 2. The Terminator (1984), 3. Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), 4. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), 5. Terminator Salvation (2009), 6. Terminator Genisys (2015).
The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day sit at the top because James Cameron directed both and both are chase films built on one clear question: can the hunted person survive the night. The Terminator reached that question on a $6.4 million budget, with a cyborg from 2029 working through the phone book for women named Sarah Connor. Terminator 2: Judgment Day spent $102 million to ask it again with the roles reversed, and I think it asks it better.
The middle of the list is where the ranking is least certain, because Terminator: Dark Fate, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation each have one clear strength and one clear flaw. Terminator: Dark Fate, directed by Tim Miller, has the strongest characters of the later films, with Linda Hamilton back as Sarah Connor and Mackenzie Davis as Grace. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, directed by Jonathan Mostow, is a competent chase film that lacks both Cameron and Hamilton. Terminator Salvation, directed by McG, is the only film set mainly in the future war, which is a good idea that I think the script never fully uses.
Terminator Genisys (2015) is last because it reworks the 1984 story more than any other film and swaps its dread for a puzzle about which timeline is which. Alan Taylor directed it. It is not a disgrace, and the cast is game, but it is the one I would reach for least.
Box office was only a tiebreaker in this ranking, not a measure of quality. According to Box Office Mojo, the worldwide grosses run from $519 million for Terminator 2: Judgment Day to $441 million for Terminator Genisys, $433 million for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, $371 million for Terminator Salvation and $261 million for Terminator: Dark Fate. The Terminator made $78 million worldwide, which combines Box Office Mojo's domestic gross with The Numbers' international figure, and that 1984 figure is not adjusted for inflation, so it undersells the film. Full figures are on the terminator box office page.
For Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Box Office Mojo lists a $200 million budget, while The Numbers lists $170 million.
If you are new to the saga, start with the first two films, then follow the terminator movies in order guide to decide what comes next. If you only want one sequel after that, I would pick Terminator: Dark Fate.
FAQs
Which Terminator movie is considered the best?
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) is the best Terminator movie in my ranking, and it is also the highest grossing film in the series at $519 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. It was directed by James Cameron and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Robert Patrick as the T-1000. The Terminator (1984) is a close second in my order.
Is Terminator 2: Judgment Day considered one of the best movies of all time?
In my opinion, yes: Terminator 2: Judgment Day belongs on any serious list of the best action films, and it is number one in this ranking. Brad Fiedel's score, a chase through a shopping mall and a clear emotional line between Sarah, John and the reprogrammed Terminator are my reasons. You can read more at Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Which Terminator movie was the most popular?
By worldwide gross, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the most popular at $519 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Next come Terminator Genisys at $441 million, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines at $433 million, Terminator Salvation at $371 million and Terminator: Dark Fate at $261 million.
Did Terminator Genisys flop or lose money?
Terminator Genisys underperformed in the US, earning about $90 million domestically on a $155 million budget, while international markets supplied $351 million, according to Box Office Mojo. In my opinion, the weak US result owes something to a story that rewrites the 1984 film and asks the audience to track several timelines. With $441 million worldwide, it is not a clear flop, and you can read the film's own page at terminator genisys.
What is Arnold Schwarzenegger's least favorite Terminator movie?
Arnold Schwarzenegger has no sourced statement naming a least favorite Terminator movie, so any answer would be a guess. He is billed first or second in five of the six films: The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Genisys and Terminator: Dark Fate. The least favorite in this ranking is Terminator Genisys, and that is my opinion, not his.
How many Terminator movies are there?
There are six Terminator movies: The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Salvation (2009), Terminator Genisys (2015) and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). A seventh, from James Cameron, is in development with no title, director, cast or date announced. See how many terminator movies are there for the full list.