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News / Columns / Box Office
Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Transformers" Stomps on Foes To Capture #1 Spot With $152.5M Opening
by Gitesh Pandya | July 08, 2007
Discuss Article
Optimus Prime and his robot heroes seized the number one spot at the North American box office with an explosive opening for "Transformers" over the extended Independence Day holiday frame. The Paramount/DreamWorks co-production grossed an estimated $67.6M over the Friday-to-Sunday period and an amazing $152.5M since its early opening last Monday with 8pm preview shows.

Internationally, the Michael Bay-directed actioner has grossed a stellar $93.6M to date from 29 markets putting the global haul at $246.1M and counting. Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson, and newcomer Megan Fox led the cast while executive producer Steven Spielberg's name played prominently in the film's marketing campaign.



"Transformers" played in an ultrawide 4,011 theaters in North America and averaged a scorching $16,854 for the weekend and a stunning $38,021 over the 6.5-day opening week. The PG-13 film began its explosive run on Monday night with $8.8M in ticket sales and followed that with $27.9M on Tuesday, $29.1M on the Wednesday holiday, $19.2M on Thursday, $22.5M on Friday, $25.9M on Saturday, and an estimated $19.2M on Sunday. The Sunday estimate could be conservative as other studios estimate the weekend gross to be closer to $68M or even $69M meaning final numbers could inch up slightly on Monday.



With a production budget of $145M, "Transformers" is one of the least expensive summer tentpoles this year. "Spider-Man 3" and the third "Pirates" saga reportedly cost $250-300M each to produce and next weekend's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" also carries a mighty high pricetag. By comparison, the Autobots flick seems rather inexpensive. The pressure certainly was on Bay after his last film "The Island" cost $125M and grossed a puny $35.8M for DreamWorks two years ago. This time, the studio will be rewarded as "Transformers" not only started off with a bang, but is pleasing audiences too and could enjoy more solid weeks ahead. Its main foe will come from "Potter" which invades multiplexes this Wednesday to get a headstart on what surely will be a gargantuan five-day debut.



Paramount set a new record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel as its 6.5-day tally edged out the $151.6M that "Spider-Man" grossed in May 2002. The webslinger's figure would be roughly $170M at today's prices, though. Still for Paramount and DreamWorks, "Transformers" marks the biggest live-action opening in company history and their third largest overall debut after the third and second "Shrek" installments.



Adjusting for eleven years of ticket price increases, "Transformers" sold about as many tickets as "Independence Day" did during its extended debut over the same Fourth of July holiday week. Both were effects-driven non-sequel summer action films with ensemble casts about alien forces threatening the safety of Earth. "Independence Day" began its run with 6pm shows on Tuesday night and grossed $96.1M from 2,882 theaters over 5.5 days which at today's prices would be about $125M. "Transformers" collected a slightly better $133.3M in its first 5.5 days. Of course, the comparisons are not exact since ID4 had an earlier start with its Tuesday previews and "Transformers" played in 1,129 more theaters, but the fighting robots did generate the same early July excitement that the alien blockbuster did over a decade ago.



Shia LaBeouf must be hoping that his career will take off the way Will Smith's did back then. The young actor will star opposite Harrison Ford next Memorial Day weekend with Paramount's fourth "Indiana Jones" film which certainly makes his stock climb, and will be looking for a much fatter paycheck when "Transformers 2" negotiations begin.



Moviegoers who preferred rats over robots spent an estimated $29M on the Disney/Pixar hit "Ratatouille" which dropped to second place after losing only 38% of its opening weekend sales. After a stellar midweek holiday period that saw the G-rated toon grossing $33.5M from Monday-to-Thursday, the ten-day cume soared to $109.5M. "Ratatouille" is now catching up to Pixar's "Cars" from last summer which dropped 44% to $33.7M in its second weekend for a ten-day tally of $117.1M. The rodent pic trailed "Cars" by 22% after the first three days, but has now cut the gap to only 6%. "Ratatouille" could find its way to the vicinity of $225M.



Despite direct competition from "Transformers," "Live Free or Die Hard" performed well shooting up an estmated $17.4M for third place this weekend. Down 48%, the PG-13 action sequel upped its cume to $84.2M after 12 days. A final domestic tally of $130-140M could result.



Robin Williams saw only mild results for his latest comedy "License to Wed" which grossed an estimated $10.4M over the weekend and opened to $17.8M over its extended six-day launch period. Playing in 2,604 theaters, the PG-13 pic averaged a mediocre $3,998 over the Friday-to-Sunday period. Critics trashed the Warner Bros. release which tried to position itself as counterprogramming to the testosterone antics of the fighting robots over the holiday week.



Dropping 46% to fifth place was the pricey comedy "Evan Almighty" with an estimated $8.1M in its third weekend giving Universal $78.1M to date. 2003's "Bruce Almighty" grossed a much mightier $171.4M in its first 17 days and cost half as much as "Evan" to produce.



MGM's hit thriller "1408" followed with an estimated $7.1M, down only 33%, for a solid cume of $53.8M. Universal's comedy "Knocked Up" also held up well dipping 29% to an estimated $5.2M. The impressive total stands at $132M which is already 21% better than the final gross of director Judd Apatow's last film "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" which laughed up $109.3M in 2005.



Fox's comic book sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" suffered the worst drop in the top ten falling 55% to an estimated $4.2M for a $123.8M total (9% behind its predecessor). Lionsgate expanded its Michael Moore documentary "Sicko" from 441 to 702 theaters and grossed an estimated $3.7M, off just 19%, pushing the cume to $11.5M. George Clooney and pals rounded out the top ten by looting an estimated $3.5M with "Ocean's Thirteen," down 42%, and raised the sum to $109.1M (5% behind "Ocean's Twelve").



Three new films debuted well in limited release over the weekend. MGM's Vietnam war drama "Rescue Dawn" opened in six theaters with an estimated $104,000 for a potent $17,375 average. With $161,000 over five days, the Christian Bale film played to an older male audience and expands to the top ten markets this Friday. Fox Searchlight's thriller "Joshua" bowed in six sites as well and grossed an estimated $51,086 for an average of $8,514. The distributor will widen the run into about 140 locations this coming weekend. Warner Independent opened its comedy "Introducing the Dwights" in four playdates and collected an estimated $31,000 for a three-day average of $7,750. Five-day total was $46,000. On Friday, the R-rated pic will expand to about 40 theaters.



Two films fell from the top ten over the weekend. The megahit "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" became the 25th film in history to sail past the $300M mark with its estimated $3M take in its seventh frame. Down 39%, the Johnny Depp adventure upped its total to $301.7M from North America keeping it at number 25 on list of all-time domestic blockbusters. A final gross of $305-310M seems likely domestically. Overseas ticket sales have surpassed $614M putting the global gross at a colossal $916M and counting.



Focus enjoyed a good hold with its star-driven drama "Evening" which took in an estimated $2.3M, off 33% in its sophomore frame. But the ten-day cume is still only at $8.3M meaning a not-so-impressive $15M final seems likely.



Among the summer's biggest hits, "Shrek the Third" grossed an estimated $1.4M, down 48%, while "Spider-Man 3" dipped 42% to an estimated $350,000. Total domestic grosses stand at $316.6M and $334.4M, respectively, and both films have now joined the Top 20 on the all-time domestic blockbusters list.



The top ten films grossed an estimated $156.2M which was down 25% from last year when "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" shattered the opening weekend box office record with $135.6M; but up 15% from 2005 when "Fantastic Four" debuted on top with $56.1M.

Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com

Related Items
Movie: The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Joshua
Sicko
License To Wed
Evening
Knocked Up
1408
Rescue Dawn
Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard
Evan Almighty
Ratatouille
Ocean's Thirteen
Introducing The Dwights
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Comments (1-20 of 51 posts) | Reply
cgcbooks
cgcbooks writes:
on Jul 08 2007 02:58 PM

It was expected to be number 1.

(Reply to this)
cgcbooks
cgcbooks writes:
on Jul 08 2007 03:00 PM

I'll be helping FF2's box office a little bit. My wife and I plan on seeing it tomorrow.

(Reply to this)
smartmoviekid
smartmoviekid writes:
on Jul 08 2007 05:10 PM

i now have a new found respect for Micheal Bay after Transformers. i still despise his previous films besides the Rock and The Island, and hes not really the nicest of guys, but i admire his determination to make the best summer flick possible by cutting his paycheck and to make sure he was as nostalgic as possible while making changes at the same time that did not completely change the characters. that is why I believe Transformers is the biggest, and best summer flick this year in my opinion.

(Reply to this)
smartmoviekid
smartmoviekid writes:
on Jul 08 2007 05:12 PM

im also so glad it made 152 million, already exceeding its 145mil budget. with this strong opening, plus satisfaction from viewers like me and many others, it will make more than enough to make at least 2 more sequels without any financial trouble.

(Reply to this)
CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe
CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe writes:
on Jul 08 2007 05:30 PM

[b]optimus bay[/b]
thanks to mr. bay, he has given everyone a fresh hit that all will love forever.

....or at least until the dreaded sequels!


(Reply to this)
curtis
curtis writes:
on Jul 08 2007 05:34 PM

Thank you bay. Transformers was a lot of fun. Word of mout is crazy good.

(Reply to this)
curtis
curtis writes:
on Jul 08 2007 05:34 PM

Thank you bay. Transformers was a lot of fun. Word of mouth is crazy good. Anybody that can make a movie like transformers for only 145 million is smart. transformers cost almost 150 less then Spider man 3 and Poct 3 And the CGI still looked ten times better

(Reply to this)
Bloody Mathias
Bloody Mathias writes:
on Jul 08 2007 05:42 PM

[b]The first Bay flick i liked.....the end of an era.[/b]
Transformers should cross the $300 million and eventually make more than Pirates 1 & 3, at least domestic.
Bay seems to be acknowleging his weaknesses by cutting back on the dramatic and amping up the action. As long as he keeps it up, he'll no longer be so hated.


(Reply to this)
synergyred
synergyred writes:
on Jul 08 2007 06:37 PM

Impressive box office results! Although Transformers wasn't to my liking, I know plenty of people who enjoyed it, so they'll be happy with these results.

Personally, I'm really glad to see that Ratatouille has proven to have some staying power. Just what I was expecting from Pixar. Not only is it a great movie, but it gives parents and alternative to the "explosions! explosions! explosions!" summer blockbusters.... oh and that dumb looking penguin movie.


(Reply to this)
Sebastion Cole
Sebastion Cole writes:
on Jul 08 2007 07:35 PM

[b]WOW[/b]
And this comes as a surprise to... no one. Glad to see Transformers did that well, it really was a great film. I'm also glad to see that Licensed to wed crashed and burned, maybe now Robin Williams will stop being in bad comedies and do some stand up finally.


(Reply to this)
kendrith1975
kendrith1975 writes:
on Jul 08 2007 08:10 PM

TRANSFORMERS' success will not come as a surprise to anybody, as long as fans do not trash its competitors. Last week some fan try to trash DIE HARD 4.0 saying it will succumb to the TRANSFORMERS (while the fact DIE HARD 4.0 earn much better reviews, especially for a sequel), and saying it was performing not well while everybody find its 33.2 opening to be impressive. In fact, this weekend proves that there is room for many films to survive together, which is what we really want to see.

(Reply to this)
aknddon3
aknddon3 writes:
on Jul 08 2007 08:24 PM

Bay has finally made up for how bad Pearl Harbour sucked.

(Reply to this)
Atomix
Atomix writes:
on Jul 08 2007 08:43 PM

Michael Bay didn't make Transformers work. Optimus Prime did. I thought it was a mediocre Bay flick until I heard his voice. Tears to my eyes.


Soundwave and Bumblebee made up most of the movie and neither one of them came across as OG transformers. Especially Soundwave. It didn't occur to me that that was Soundwave until I was in the car and one the way home. Had that character been more like the original in any recognizable way the movie would of started out much stronger. Was was there was really good. But just a little more would of put it over the damn top.


Oh and StarScream needed a piece of Dialogue.


(Reply to this)
SlyDante
SlyDante writes:
on Jul 08 2007 09:04 PM

In reply to this comment (#910651)
"It didn't occur to me that that was Soundwave until I was in the car..."

Well, of course it shouldn't have occured to you: That wasn't Soundwave. According to official sources, it was Frenzy. =P


(Reply to this)
Kaleli
Kaleli writes:
on Jul 08 2007 10:26 PM

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I didn't even realize the running time was close to 150 minutes until it was over.....and I didn't even realize it the second time I watched it.

It kept me entertained and it had just the right balance of nostalgia, humor and action. Granted there were some issues I had with the movie, but I will admit it. Michael Bay came through and I applaud him for cutting his salary to keep the production in the States.

My only real beef was there wasn't enough of the Starscream I remember so I'm hoping they'll bring that to light in the sequel, especially since he should think he's in charge now with the "death" of Megatron. Megatron kinda hinted on it in his line "You dissapoint me". Ahh, memories.

And I'm still holding out for the universal greeting... :)


(Reply to this)
Dominem007
Dominem007 writes:
on Jul 08 2007 10:53 PM

This movie isnt going to make much more than 300 million domestically ...Harry Potter opens on Wednesday and Transformers is going to drop by at least 50, maybe even 60 percent next weekend

(Reply to this)
South_park300
South_park300 writes:
on Jul 09 2007 12:11 AM

"This movie isnt going to make much more than 300 million domestically"

you act as if that is bad? wtf


(Reply to this)
kishor197
kishor197 writes:
on Jul 09 2007 04:55 AM

[b]60% drop!!! No Way!!![/b]
As Much as Harry potter will make this weekend. There is no way that transformers will drop 60%. My bet is that it would be around 40%


(Reply to this)
Gimy
Gimy writes:
on Jul 09 2007 05:45 AM

i still don't get all the Die Hard 4 hurrah. finally got to see it this weekend and its EXACTLY what you'd expect from a flick trying to do a LOWER rated sequel after more than 10 years. good...but not great. its not even Spiderman 3 good. some of the JOHN MCLAIN material was forced too(talking to himself in the tunnel?? urgh)...just seemed like they were trying to say "yeah dudes, really...this IS a die hard movie, see??? seee??!?!?!?" Transformers PROVES what you can do with a superior film. i guess i'm a negative guy but, you'd expect a GREAT franchise like Die hard to ALREADY have broken 100 million by now if the flick was that good and kept to a simple formula. to me, its failing. i don't see it making 140 domestic, as projected, either.

(Reply to this)
TombstoneLawDog
TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Jul 09 2007 07:09 AM

In reply to this comment (#910651)
...actually, Bay DID make this movie work for precisely the reason you say-- Bay was the one (along with Spielberg) who sought out Peter Cullen to reprise his role as Prime. In fact, the only thing they did (sorta) get wrong, was not making Prime powerful enough-- he should NOT have gotten a beatdown by Megatron every time they fought. Prime don' need no stinkin' keed to save him.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here, just trying to see credit given where it's due, and love him or hate him (most around here choosing the latter), Bay hit this one out of the park.

Can't resist: that wasn't soundwave, it was some sort of hybrid/homage to soundwave and the tapes because Bay realized he couldn't use a cassette player in the movie. Maybe Frenzy, maybe something else.


(Reply to this)
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