This article is about the film. For the franchise it initiated, see Terminator (franchise). For the eponymous character, see Terminator (character). For other uses, see Terminator (disambiguation).

The Terminator
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Cameron
Produced by	Gale Anne Hurd
Screenplay by	James Cameron Gale Anne Hurd William Wisher, Jr.
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Michael Biehn Linda Hamilton Paul Winfield
Music by	Brad Fiedel
Cinematography	Adam Greenberg
Editing by	Mark Goldblatt
Studio	Hemdale Film Corporation Pacific Western Productions
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release dates	October 26, 1984
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6.4 million[1]
Box office	$78,371,200

The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd and William Wisher, Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton. It was filmed in Los Angeles, produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures. Schwarzenegger plays the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, played by Hamilton. Biehn plays Kyle Reese, a soldier from the future sent back in time to protect Sarah.

Though not expected to be either a commercial or critical success, The Terminator topped the American box office for two weeks and helped launch the film career of Cameron and solidify that of Schwarzenegger. Three sequels have been produced: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Terminator Salvation (2009), as well as a television series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009). In 2008, The Terminator was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the American National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".