'Transformers 5' Will Be Big Internationally
by EG
The latest big-budget Hollywood tentpole to unfurl at the summer box office hopes to overcome any sequel fatigue in the U.S. by transforming into a monster overseas.
Paramount and Hasbro's Transformers: The Last Knight, directed by Michael Bay, is getting a jump on the weekend by opening everywhere in North America on Wednesday, following previews Tuesday night. The studio puts the film's budget at $217 million before a major marketing spend.
According to pre-release tracking, the fifth outing in franchise is projected to post a five-day domestic debut in the $70 million-$75 million range, notably behind than the $100 million North American launch of the last title, Transformers: Age of Extinction, over the three day June 27-29 weekend in 2014 and the lowest in the series, based on the classic Hasbro toys.
Instead, The Last Knight — similar to recent summer tentpole Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales — is counting on sizeable returns internationally, where Age of Extinction grossed a massive $858.6 million to become the first Transformers movie to jump the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office on its way to resting at $1.1 billion, not accounting for inflation. The domestic portion was $245.4 million, which, again, was the lowest of the films.
Read the rest of this article at The Hollywood Reporter.
Transformers: The Last Knight stars Mark Wahlberg, who debuted as the franchise's star in the previous Transformers film.