In a surprise twist, the bots got squeezed out by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the weekend box office.
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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 Hasbro, 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. Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry voice the two characters, with Keegan-Michael Key, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm also in the voice cast.
“Consider this a franchise revitalized,” wrote Frank Scheck in his review of the film for The Hollywood Reporter .
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The weekend’s two other new releases are in far worse shape. Lionsgate’s Halle Berry pic Never Let Go came in fourth place with an estimated $4.5 million from 2,667 sites, while Mubi’s The Substance , starring Demi Moore, opened in sixth place with an estimated $3.1 million from 1,949 cinemas.
Beetlejuice continued to dazzle in North America to finish Sunday with a domestic total of $226.8 million. The Tim Burton-directed movie hasn’t done nearly as well overseas, where it has earned $103 million for a global cume of $329.7 million.
Coming in third after the Beetlejuice sequel and Transformers One was the Blumhouse and horror-thriller Speak No Evil , which earned $5.9 million from 3,375 locations in its second weekend for a solid domestic total of $21.5 million. It has earned an equally solid $20.9 million at the international box office for a global total of $42.4 million against a modest $15 million production budget
Marvel and Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine rounded out the top five in North America with $3.9 million from 2,450 theaters all the way in its ninth weekend for a domestic tally of $627.3 million and $1.316 billion globally, putting it at No. 23 on the list of the 25 top-grossing films of all time, not adjusted for inflation.
Conservative pundit Matt Walsh’s much-talked about documentary Am I Racist? placed seventh in its second outing with $2.5 million from 1,600 locations for a domestic tally of $9 million, the best showing for a political doc in two decades.
Sept. 22, 8:11 a.m. : Updated with revised weekend estimates.
This story was originally published Sept. 21 at 9:23 a.m. .
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