The advanced visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which include the first use of a computer-generated main character in a blockbuster film, resulted in a schedule overrun. Theatrical prints were not delivered to theaters until the night before the picture's release on July 3, 1991.

Terminator 2 was a critical and commercial success, grossing $519-520.9million at the box office to become the highest-grossing film of 1991