As of this writing,Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment in theTransformers seriesdirected by Michael Bay looks to bring in $69.1 million domestically. The movie may make its initial tracking projection of $70 million by the end of the day, which would still make it the lowest grossingTransformersopening for the franchise in it’s 10-year history. The first installment of the series earned $70.5 million back in 2007 and was the highest grossing non-sequel movie of 2007., topping the box office in 10 countries.
Varietyis reporting thatTransformers: The Last Knightis performing well overseas much like other summer blockbusters likeThe Mummyso it may end up turning a profit after recouping its $217 million budget.The Last Knightmade $41 million onopening day in Chinaalone, making the projected end of the weekend box office at somewhere around $196.2 million, which is definitely nothing to scoff at. The movie comes at a time when Paramount could have used a true box office smash after the critical and commercial failures ofBaywatchandThe Ghost in the Shell.
Transformers 5ended up having a bit of a rebound on Saturday with a bump of $17.5 million, the highest day in the 5-day opening over 4,069 theaters across the United States. Most of the big budget summer blockbusters have had similar fates domestically thus far, excludingWonder WomanandGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The summer season is still only really getting started with the releases ofSpider-Man: HomecomingandRise of the Planet of the Apescoming within the next few weeks and both are receiving praise from early screenings by audiences, unlikeThe Last Knight.
The lackluster reviews forTransformers: The Last Knight, or “final chapter” for Bay as a director, have many awaiting the often talked aboutreboot of the franchise. And there’s a lot to be excited about since the first in the series of spin-offs will revolve around the beloved Bumblebee character. Early comparisons have been said to give theBumblebee spin-offanIron Gianttype of vibe}, which makes it all the more exciting especially when taking into consideration that the movie will take place in the 1980s and is rumored to return to the VW Bug version of Bumblebee. TheTransformersfranchise is deeply in need of a return to the original spirit of the Hasbro toys and cartoon and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura plans to do just that withBumblebee. Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) will direct theBumblebeespin-off and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit,Edge of Seventeen) is reportedly in early talks to play the human role in the spin-off.
Transformers: The Last Knightis likely to be abox office bombby any means. It may perform under expectations, but those numbers reflect that fans of theTransformersfranchise are ready for something new, something to remind fans why they fell in love with the magic ofTransformersin the first place and explosions and CGI might not be what everybody is looking for. WhileThe Last Knightjust hit theaters, expect theBumblebeespin-off to hit theaters on June 8th, 2018.
