After just three weeks in theaters, Transformers One has finally reached a major global milestone. The Transformers franchise is easily one of the most profitable film series, with a combined total of $5.28 billion. However, Transformers One has been struggling at the box office since its release in September, debuting at $24.6 million domestically. This is in contrast to the movie’s budget of $75-147 million, making it one of the most disappointing box office results this year despite the film garnering near-unanimous positive reviews from critics and audiences.
Recently, Deadline reported that Transformers One has now made $111.4 million at the global box office. Of that total, approximately $52.8 million came domestically, with the film currently ranking at no. 6 on the box office chart. The international total is $58.5 million, although the movie won’t be released in France until October 23.
Why Transformer One Is Unlikely To Become A Box Office Success
It Has Yet To Reach Breakeven
Unfortunately, Transformers One became the latest victim of being a highly acclaimed movie that failed to perform at the box office. Much of this could be attributed to the franchise’s inconsistency with their live-action movies, ranging from being critically mixed to poorly reviewed. The trend seems apparent, given that last year’s Rise of the Beasts barely passed breakeven with $441 million globally. Still, this disappointment is baffling, given Transformers One became one of the best-reviewed movies in the franchise, with an 88% critical score and a near-perfect 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Transformers One’s Title & Meaning Explained
Transformers One’s title carries some strong meaning and connection to the overall Transformers franchise, beyond simply being an animated prequel.
With the higher range of the reported budget at $147 million, Transformers Onewould need at least $300 million to reach the breakeven point. That’s unlikely to happen given that the animated film is already reaching one month in theaters, and there will be more competition with the release of Smile 2 and Venom: The Last Dance. The film is also reaching its last legs in theaters, where even a few additional international markets won’t make a difference in uplifting its box office total. Hence, many outlets have already deemed the movie a box office bomb.
Our Take On Transformers One Reaching $111M Globally
The Movie Deserves Better
I’m disappointed that a great movie like Transformers One endured such losses at the box office. It’s easily the best Transformers movie in the franchise due to the visual effects, the tragic backstory of Optimus and Megatron, and the violent fight sequences. However, I hope that even the poor box office won’t hinder the potential to explore the rich story. I would love to see a sequel that shows where the Transformers One characters go next in Cybertron. However, there is still some time for redemption via streaming, which I believe is where it will find its audiences, and word of mouth will push that encouragement.
Source: Deadline