Transformers triumphant!
Master blaster Michael Bay brought his colossal robots in disguise back to theaters this weekend, putting TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION at the top of the box office with an estimated $100 million!
Assuming that figure holds true when tomorrow's actual receipts are calculated, that will mean the latest TRANSFORMERS is the first 2014 release to crack nine digits on its opening weekend.
The opening for the fourth metallic smackdown came in below 2009's TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN ($108.9 million) but just above 2011's TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON ($97.8 million) — which went on to a titantic worldwide total of $1.1 billion, and remains the seventh highest-grossing movie of all time.
TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION also marks the second-biggest opening for destruction virtuoso Michael Bay, and the highest weekend for star Mark Wahlberg, whose previous best was Tim Burton's 2001 remake of PLANET OF THE APES with a $68.5 million opening. Meanwhile, former TRANSFORMERS series star Shia LaBeouf is apparently busy being a jackass engaging in various performance art experiments…
In addition, the latest collateral damage clash of Autobots and Decepticons brought in over $200 million just from international crowds, putting its opening weekend worldwide total over $300 million. Granted, the onslaught of explosive chaos cost north of $200 million, but that's still a whopping first weekend.
Unsurprisingly, critics had their heavy weapons ready and trained on Bay's newest (17% on Rotten Tomatoes), but paying crowds cheered on Optimus Prime and colleagues with an 'A-' CinemaScore. TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION won't have to face another big-budget spectacle challenger until DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES swings into theaters on July 11.
Holding strong in second place was 22 JUMP STREET with $15.4 million. On its third weekend in theaters, the R-rated Channing Tatum/Jonah Hill sequel has already surpassed the original 21 JUMP STREET's $138.4 million domestic total. Circling in third place was HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 with $13.1 million, as it glides to $228 million worldwide.
Dropping to fourth was last week's winner, the comedy sequel THINK LIKE A MAN TOO with $10.4 million, a loss of 64% from its opening weekend. It was followed by Disney's MALEFICENT holding fifth with $8.2 million as it crossed $200 million domestically and approaches $600 million worldwide.
The Clint Eastwood-directed musical JERSEY BOYS slipped to sixth with $7.6 million, a drop of 42% from last weekend's opening. After that, Tom Cruise continues to nudge EDGE OF TOMORROW forward with another $5.2 million, and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is still gasping with $4.8 million.
Toward the bottom, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST clings to the present and CHEF refuses to leave the kitchen as GODZILLA marches back into the sea. In limited release, the post-apocalyptic train SNOWPIERCER rolled out with an adequate $20k per-screen, topped by $29k per-screen for the Mark Ruffalo/Keira Knightley romance BEGIN AGAIN.
Next week (on Wednesday) offers a variety of summer alternatives for your Fourth of July weekend, including the R-rated Melissa McCarthy comedy TAMMY, the found-footage family alien adventure EARTH TO ECHO, and the R-rated exorcism thriller DELIVER US FROM EVIL (directed by Scott Derrickson, who Marvel chose for their DOCTOR STRANGE feature).
What July release are you most interested in seeing? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | $100 M | NEW |
| 2 | 22 Jump Street | $15.4 M | $139.8 M |
| 3 | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | $13.1 M | $121.8 M |
| 4 | Think Like a Man Too | $10.4 M | $48.1 M |
| 5 | Maleficent | $8.2 M | $201.8 M |
| 6 | Edge of Tomorrow | $5.2 M | $84.1 M |
| 7 | Jersey Boys | $7.6 M | $27.3 M |
| 8 | The Fault in our Stars | $4.8 M | $109.5 M |
| 9 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | $3.3 M | $223.3 M |
| 10 | Chef | $1.6 M | $19.4 M |