'Transformers One' Suffers Surprise Box-Office Defeat
by EG
The animated robot sequel Transformers One was expected to be the top movie in theaters this weekend, but moviegoers had surprisingly little interest in the film. Instead, horror comedy sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice held on to win the box-office race for a third week in a row. Read on for details.
In a surprise twist, the bots got squeezed out by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the weekend box office.
Paramount and Hasbro Entertainment’s Transformers One was expected to open to at least $30 million to $35 million in North America, more than enough to top the chart. Instead, it came in at an an estimated $25 million from 3,978 theaters versus an estimated $26 million from 4,172 locations for Warner Bros.’ Beetlejuice sequel, which is now in is third weekend.
Transformers One had held a slight edge as of Saturday morning, but the necessary traffic needed to eke out a victory didn’t materialize.
The unwelcome news comes despite glowing reviews, awards buzz, an A CinemaScore and exceptional PostTrak exit scores, but Paramount and Hasbro always knew they were taking a risk by returning to the franchise’s roots and making a CGI-animated film with a family-friendly PG rating, versus a PG-13 live-action extravaganza targeting fanboys. The movie hoped to play to both demos similar to the blockbuster Spider-Man: Spider-Verse series, but so far, the turnout has been soft on both fronts. Chatter on social media indicates that some franchise fans were confused as to the film’s animated status.
The movie also opened overseas, grossing $14 million from 50 markets, or 40 percent of the international market place (it has yet to roll in many major territories).
The jury is out on the film’s ultimate fate. The modestly budgeted event pic, co-financed by Habro, cost $75 million to produce before marketing, which minimizes the sting of the weak domestic opening. The hope now is that it can find its footing and enjoy a long run in theaters based on such strong exits and reviews, although the entry of DreamWorks Animation and Universal’s The Wild Robot next weekend could complicated matters, at least on the family front. (Wild Robot commenced its international rollout in eight markets over the weekend, earning $6.9 million, which includes a paltry $4 million from China.)
Directed by Pixar alum Josh Cooley, Transformers One is an origin story, chronicling how two of the most iconic Transformers, Optimus Prime and Megatron, went from best friends to archnemeses.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.