'Transformers' Preparing for a Lackluster Weekend
by EG
Paramount and Hasbro’s “Transformers: The Last Knight” is heading for a respectable but unspectacular $62 million opening over its first five days at 4,069 North American locations, early estimates showed Wednesday.
“Transformers: The Last Knight,” starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Michael Bay, took in $5.5 million in Tuesday night previews at about 3,000 locations. The preview number of $5.5 million is a match for the Thursday night previews from May 26 on Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.”
The first day gross, which includes the previews, was estimated in the $14 million to $15 million range, which projects to a range of $60 million to $62 million for the Wednesday-Sunday period.
The four previous “Transformers” installments — all directed by Bay — have grossed $3.77 billion worldwide, including $1 billion for the most recent “Transformers: Age of Extinction” in 2014.
The first-day estimate leaves “The Last Knight” more than 10% down from recent forecasts of $70 million during its five-day domestic opening — far lower than the $100 million debut for “Age of Extinction” during the three-day launch period of June 27-29, 2014, which took in $41.9 million in its first day. The reported production budget for this latest installment was $217 million.
Red the rest of this article at Variety.
Wonder Woman and Cars 3 are expected to battle for the weekend's second-place spot.