Editing Total Recall (1990 film) (section)

==Release==
===Context===
{{see also|1990 in film}}
Following the previous year's record $5{{nbsp}}billion box office, more films than ever were expected to surpass $100{{nbsp}}million at box office as fifty films were scheduled for release during the summer theater season of 1990 (May 18 – September 3). ''Dick Tracy'' was predicted to dominate the box office, and films such as ''[[Another 48 Hrs.]]'', ''[[Back to the Future Part III]]'', ''[[Days of Thunder]]'', ''[[Die Hard 2]]'', ''[[RoboCop 2]]'', and ''Total Recall'' were expected to perform well based on their brand recognition and star appeal. These films were all scheduled for release by the end of June to ensure a long theatrical run during the peak time of the year, and other releases were scheduled to avoid opening against them. The importance of domestic box office grosses was also decreasing as studios increasingly earned profits from home media releases, television rights, and markets outside of the United States and Canada. These growing markets were, in turn, increasing film production costs as stars commanded higher salaries to compensate for their international appeal, with ''Total Recall'', ''Die Hard 2'', and ''Days of Thunder'' among the most expensive films being released. Average salaries for male leads had also increased to between $7–$11{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="NYTimesSummerPreview"/>

===Marketing===
{{ external media
| float = right
| video1 = {{YouTube|id=QMlYYKGZ9qU|title=''Total Recall'' teaser}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20241207231406/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMlYYKGZ9qU Archived]| video2= {{YouTube|id=u-JZb46UZzE|title=''Total Recall'' trailer}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20241009162607/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-JZb46UZzE Archived]
}}
The teaser for ''Total Recall'', made by distributor Tri-Star Pictures, disappointed Schwarzenegger and tested poorly with audiences. It lacked the action scenes and special effects, and presented the film in a vague, dramatic way. Schwarzenegger believed it "cheapened" the film, saying "it looks like a $20{{nbsp}}million movie in this trailer{{nbsp}}... it's like a $50{{nbsp}}million movie." He contacted [[Peter Guber]], the head of Tri-Star's owner [[Sony Pictures Studios]], who contracted a different company, Cimmaron/Bacon/O'Brien, to produce a new trailer focusing on the action and special effects; it fared much better with audiences and attracted praise from industry professionals, such as Joel Silver.<ref name="ringer june2020"/>

===Box office===
In the U.S. and Canada, ''Total Recall'' was released on June{{nbsp}}1, 1990, in 2,060 theaters. It grossed $25.5{{nbsp}}million—an average of $12,395 per theater—and finished as the [[List of 1990 box office number-one films in the United States|number one film of the weekend]], ahead of ''Back to the Future Part III'' ($10.3{{nbsp}}million), which was in its second weekend of release, and ''[[Bird on a Wire (film)|Bird on a Wire]]'' ($6.3{{nbsp}}million), in its third. This figure gave it the highest opening weekend gross of the year to date, narrowly beating ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 film)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''{{'s}} $25.4{{nbsp}}million.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="ringer june2020"/><ref name="BOMDomesticWeekend1"/><ref name="NYTIMesJune221990"/><ref name="LATimesJune41990"/>}} This was also the highest opening for an [[R rating (Motion Picture Association of America)|R-rated]] film,{{sfn|Variety, June|1996|p=6}} and one of the ten highest-grossing three-day opening weekends ever.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="ringer june2020"/><ref name="BOMDomesticWeekend1"/><ref name="NYTIMesJune221990"/><ref name="LATimesJune41990"/>}} The film fell to number two in its second weekend, with an additional gross of $15{{nbsp}}million (a decline of forty-one percent), behind the debut of ''Another 48 Hrs.'' ($19.5{{nbsp}}million), and to the number three position in its third week with an additional gross of $10.2{{nbsp}}million, behind ''Another 48 Hrs.'' ($10.7{{nbsp}}million) and the debut of ''Dick Tracy'' ($22.5{{nbsp}}million).<ref name="BOMDomesticWeekend2"/><ref name="BOMDomesticWeekend3"/>

By mid-July, the film had earned over $100{{nbsp}}million and was classified as a success.<ref name="NYTimesJuly121990"/> During the remainder of its sixteen-weekend theatrical run, ''Total Recall'' never regained the number one position, leaving the top-ten highest-grossing films by the end of July.<ref name="BOMOverall"/> ''Total Recall'' earned an approximate total box office gross of $119.4{{nbsp}}million.{{efn|The United States and Canada box office of $119.4{{nbsp}}million is equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|119400000|1990}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}}} This figure made it the second-highest-grossing film of the summer, behind the surprise success of ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]'', and the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year behind ''[[The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October]]'' ($120.1{{nbsp}}million), ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' ($135.3{{nbsp}}million), ''[[Pretty Woman]]'' ($178.4{{nbsp}}million), ''[[Dances with Wolves]]'' ($184.2{{nbsp}}million), ''Ghost'' ($217.6{{nbsp}}million), and ''[[Home Alone]]'' ($285.8{{nbsp}}million).{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="WiredPKD"/><ref name="TheNumbersDomestic1990"/><ref name="NYTimesSep221990"/><ref name="NYTimesNov31990"/>}}

Figures are unavailable for all theatrical releases outside of the U.S. and Canada, but the film is estimated to have earned a further $142{{nbsp}}million, giving it a cumulative worldwide gross of $261.4{{nbsp}}million,{{efn|The worldwide 1990 box office of $261.4{{nbsp}}million is equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|261400000|1990}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}}} making it the [[1990 in film|fifth-highest-grossing film of the year]], behind ''Dances with Wolves'' ($424.2{{nbsp}}million), ''Pretty Woman'' ($432.6{{nbsp}}million), ''Home Alone'' ($476.7{{nbsp}}million), and ''Ghost'' ($517.6{{nbsp}}million).{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="WiredPKD"/><ref name="ringer june2020"/><ref name="AFIBio"/><ref name="TheNumbersWorldwide1990"/>}} Taking into account production fees, interest, residual payments, and other costs, ''Total Recall'' is estimated to have returned $36{{nbsp}}million in profit to the studio.<ref name="NYTimesCarolcoProfit"/>{{efn|Carolco Pictures is estimated to have earned $36{{nbsp}}million in profit from the theatrical box office, equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|36000000|1990}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}}}