The auction for the rights to the Terminator franchise has an early leader, as it's been revealed that Lionsgate is in the driving seat as things stand. Whilst not as cash-rich as one of the major studios, Lionsgate has been building itself up quite nicely over the past years, aided by the likes of the cash-generating Saw franchise.

And it's put together what looks like an interesting bid for the Terminator series. It's reportedly offered $15m up front, as well as continuing DVD and TV revenues from Terminator: Salvation. On top of that, the bid is reported to include 5% of the first dollar gross on future Terminator movies, which itself could bring in around $20-40m per movie, depending on how the films fare.

Lionsgate is now the stalking horse bid, which means that anyone who wants to throw their hat into the ring has to beat the offer that's on the table. And the destination of the Terminator rights is set to be resolved over the coming month, when we'll see if the studio that emerges triumphant will pursue the plan for the trilogy of films started with Salvation...

Deadline Hollywood has more on the story.