In a surprising turn of events, Warner Bros. has emerged victorious in the bidding war for the domestic distribution rights to “Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines,” beating out major competitors like Paramount, Dreamworks, and Dimension Films.

The highly anticipated film, financed by Intermedia, will see Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to his iconic cyborg role, with a hefty paycheck of $30 million. Jonathan Mostow, known for directing "U-571," will helm the project, which boasts an impressive budget of $170 million.

Four studios were willing to meet the base asking price of $50 million, plus 50% of the gross receipts. Warner Bros. secured the deal by highlighting two key advantages: the success of “Harry Potter” demonstrated the studio's ability to leverage the full resources of the AOL Time Warner empire, and its strong relationships with exhibitors would ensure “T3” a commanding presence in theaters.

Warner Bros. also holds the rights to Schwarzenegger’s upcoming film, “Collateral Damage,” set to release on February 8 after being rescheduled due to the September 11 tragedies.

The studio plans to release “Matrix 2” on Memorial Day 2003, followed by “T3” on the July 4th weekend, and then “Matrix 3” in November. Tentative plans for “Harry Potter” sequels are set for 2002 and 2004.

One top Warner Bros. executive noted, “It’s hard to remember a situation in which a studio had a stronger position in the exhibition community.”

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in April, with a summer 2003 release date.

Intermedia and C-2 partners Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna, along with producers Joel Michaels and Hal Lieberman, ran the week-long auction. Warner Bros., buoyed by the recent successes of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” entered the fray late but emerged triumphant. The studio also secured first refusal rights for a potential fourth “Terminator” installment.

Despite the absence of franchise director James Cameron, the addition of Mostow, who seems poised to take on big-budget franchises, has been well-received. The script, originally written by Tedi Serafian and later revised by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, picks up the story a decade after the sequel. A twentysomething John Connor, with a new actor replacing Edward Furlong, reunites with his cyborg protector to battle the TX, an advanced terminatrix model.

Initially, Universal, Disney (through Dimension), Dreamworks, and Paramount all showed interest, but the latter two remained in the running until the weekend, with Warner Bros. entering the competition late last week.

A strong U.S. performance is crucial for Intermedia, whose partners Moritz Borman, Nigel Sinclair, and Guy East are making their biggest financial gamble yet. Japanese and German distribution rights have already been sold, with Toho-Towa securing Japanese rights and VCL acquiring German rights. These deals, made before Intermedia’s involvement, helped Kassar and Vajna keep the project afloat after they paid $8 million to rescue the property from the Carolco bankruptcy auction and a similar amount to Gale Anne Hurd, the original producer and co-writer.

Cameron initially planned to direct Schwarzenegger in “T3,” but both he and Fox dropped out, paving the way for the current lineup.

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