Transformers: Dark of the Moon 4th All Time

It seems that between the brief two week IMAX re-release and the cheap seats release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon was enough to bump the film past The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the all time worldwide box office gross (not account for inflation). The film has made $1119.112 million compared to LOTR's $1119.110 million. The third film in the list, Harry Potter 7.2, is at $1326.4 million so unlikely to pass that film in the all-time list. As expected, international sales account most of the films total with $766.9 million (68.5%) of the total.

Transformers 3 Returns to IMAX on Friday

Yesterday Michael Bay said that Paramount was working on bringing Transformers: Dark of the Moon back to IMAX theatres and today that has now been officially confirmed. The Hollywood Reporter writes that DOTM will have a limited two week run in 246 North America IMAX theaters from August 26th to September 8th. However, it seems show times might be limited at "the film will play simultaneously with other movies already booked by IMAX." It is an interesting decision that makes me wonder what Paramount is hoping to accomplish with the re-release. My thinking is they are hoping to earn the relatively small $23 million to climb up the all-time box office ladder. If the release had come a month or so later I would have thought it would be a useful way to promote the home video release but this early makes that a non-factor.

Transformers 3 Returning to IMAX?

It seems that Transformers: Dark of the Moon may return to theatres or at least to IMAX again according to a post in the Shoot for the Edit forums by Michael Bay. He wrote, "I think they are really considering re-releasing Transformers on IMAX again. From what I heard from Paramount."

I am not exactly sure when Paramount would squeeze into the IMAX schedule as the year seems locked up with Contagion (released date 9/9), Real Steel (10/7), Puss in Boots (11/4), Happy Feet Two (11/18), and Mission Impossible 4 (12/21) on the schedule. Often the studios will have contractually set date run for their IMAX releases in part to lock out the competition and also because the conversion to IMAX format has its own cost they want to make sure to recoup. A return to IMAX theatres might just be enough to overcome the $23.6 million deficit (likely around $10 million by time international run finishes) to become 4th on the all-time box office list. As of now it does seem to be a long shot.

Transformers 3 Box Office

Another weekend draws to a close with more added to Transformers: Dark of the Moon coffers. The US total added an estimated $585 thousand for US total of $348.5 million. International sales added $6.1 million for a total of $747 million. The worldwide box office is now $1095.5 million. To move into fourth place on the all time box office total, it will need to earn another $23.6 million to tie Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

Transformers 3 Moves to Fifth All-Time

Transformers: Dark of the Moon's domestic run is coming to a close as it drops out of the US top ten but not before hitting another milestone. The movie, with a $1071.2 million total, is now fifth in the worldwide all-time box office moving past Pirates 4 ($1066.2M) and Toy Story 3 ($1063.2M). The next movie on the list is The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King at $1119.1 million but it is unlikely to pass that total.

As for the weekend box office, US side an estimated $1.35M was added for domestic total of $347 million. International sales added another $12.5 million, most of it from Japan ($4.6M) and China ($4.7M) who were last in getting the movie for an international total of $724 million. I am guessing the movie is about 2 weeks away from ending its primary run and moving into the cheap seat theatres.

TF3 Weekend Box Office Report

It seems the theatrical run of the Transformers: Dark of the Moon is soon to end as the movie is on the verge of dropping out of the top 10 after this week but not before passing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as 7th on the all-time box office list. The US box office
added $3.0 million (for $344.1M) while international sales added another $17.5 million (for $693.5M). This puts DOTM's worldwide total at $1038 million. Assuming international sales continue at a decent pace, Dark could pass Toy Story 3 ($1063.2M) and Pirates 3 ($1066.2M) for 5th place on the all-time list in about two weeks.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Joins $1 Billionaire Club

Transformers: Dark of the Moon has officially crossed the $1 billion threshold. The movie is the 10th movie ever to cross the threshold and the first movie in Paramount Picture's 99 year existence. The movie crossed the mark Tuesday after international numbers came in. The total breaks down to $338 million from US, $663 million from international sales.

DOTM helped add a few other feathers to Paramount's cap. Its $180.7M opening weekend aiding in the studio beating other studios to $1 billion in ticket sales for the year. In addition the studio is also the first to reach $2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, obviously thanks to DOTM providing literally half of that total. At this pace 2011 will be the studio's most successful year ever.

Brad Grey, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures [said,] “We are grateful for the extraordinary work of Michael Bay and his film-making team, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and everyone at Paramount around the globe who played a part in helping make this latest TRANSFORMERS one of the 10 highest grossing films worldwide of all time."

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Transformers: Dark of the Moon for achieving this significant entertainment milestone.

Transformers 3 Joins Worldwide Box Office Top 10

It is a good news/bad news weekend for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The good news is the movie joined the Top 10 of All Time Worldwide Grosses at the box office. The bad news is Harry Potter 7.2 beat it to the $1 billion club by $20 million. On the brighter side, the movie is practically guaranteed to cross the threshold in just a few short days.

The current tally for DOTM stands at $337.9M domestic and $645M from international ticket sales. That number includes $9.5 million from the movie's first weekend in Japan with 82% of those sales coming from IMAX. The international ticket sales this weekend added an additional $42M to the total. On the U.S. side the movie slipped to 8th place with $6M for the weekend.

As of now, Dark of the Moon rests as the top movie of the year in the US with its $337.9M ahead Harry Potter 7.2 ($318.5M) and Pirates 4 ($238.2M). However it’s $982.9M in worldwide sales places it behind Pirates 4 ($1032.8M) and Potter ($1008.5) for the year. Still a touch soon to know for sure but chances are DOTM will be the top movie of 2011 in the US (something that matters a great deal to studios) and may land at number 2 in worldwide sales (another important studio stat). All this means that not only did the movie hold its own against stiff competition like Potter 7.2 but makes a heck of an argument on why the franchise needs to continue sooner rather than later.

Transformers 3 On Top In Lifetime Revenue

Another weekend has drawn to a close and Transformers: Dark of the Moon continues to hold its own at the box office despite stiff competition from Harry Potter 7.2 and Captain America. DOTM now has an estimated worldwide total of $882.4M, passing the previous two Transformers films in lifetime box office revenue. The film's domestic total breaks down to $325.8 million in the US and $556.6 elsewhere. That total makes DOTM the most successful international release ever for Paramount. The continued overseas success accounts for 63.1% of the total as the film still lags behind Revenge of the Fallen in the US.

This weekend DOTM added another $12 million in the US and $62 million international to the total with a big thanks to China's $40 million contribution as the film finally debuted there this weekend. Next weekend is Japan's turn to finally see the movie. At this point it is pretty much a forgone conclusion that Transformers: Dark of the Moon will join the billionaire club of movies that currently only has 8 members.

The question is will Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows beat the movie there considering in its second weekend the world wide total sits at $834.6 million thanks to even greater international success then Dark of the Moon. Domestically Harry Potter 7.2 suffered a huge 72% drop in sales from last weekend thanks to Captain America so there is still a chance that Dark of the Moon will hit a billion first.

Harry Potter Squashes Transformers at Box Office (Updated)

To no surprise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 stomped Transformers: Dark of the Moon at the box office. Harry Potter took in a record breaking $168.55 million (including $1435M from midnight screenings) passing The Dark Knight ($158.4M) as the highest grossing weekend ever in North America. The result is DOTM suffered a 59% hit from the previous weekend taking in $39 million and passing Transformers I domestic total.

Overseas Harry Potter also squashed the competition taking in $307 million over the weekend easily passing the previous record holder of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger tides ($252M). The result it has made $475 million worldwide in just three days. By comparison, Dark of the Moon remains strong with an international total of $460M bringing the movies worldwide total to $762.8M after three weeks of release. At this point I will be really surprised if Transformers 3 doesn't cross the $1 billion threshold, the only question is will it do it before or after Harry Potter 8.

Transformers 3 Weekend Box Office Results

Transformers: Dark of the Moon continues to steamroll the competition worldwide. With the weekend close, day 12 of release, the film has a domestic total of $261 million and international total of $348 million for a worldwide total of $645 million. These stats put Transformers 3 as the highest grossing film in the US of the year. It has a ways to go to pass Pirates 4 international total of $778.9M. Deadline notes that thanks to these numbers, Michael Bay once again will make between $80M to $100M off the third film. With these kinds of numbers, you can see why Bay ultimately chooses to ignore the critics and focus on the numbers.

DOTM earned $47 million in the US box office for a 52% (as expected) compared to last weekend but less than ROTF's 61%. TF3's US sales also continues to lag behind TF2's totals at $261M to $293.4M but the low drop in box office indicates it may be able to make up the difference over time. This will be the last time Transformers 3 is number 1 at the box office as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 takes the spotlight next weekend. Regardless, it is international sales and ability to withstand the Harry Potter onslaught that will determine if this film can break the $1 billion threshold.

Transformers 3 Fastest to $500 Million

Box Office Mojo is reporting that Transformers: Dark of the Moon has added another notch to its record belt. The movie is now the fastest in history to pass the $500 million mark in worldwide box office sales by reaching that point in nine days (on Thursday). The previous record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean 3 & 4 which did it in ten days. The comparison isn't a hundred percent though as Pirates 4 didn't do a near same day worldwide release like Dark of the Moon. That two day international difference means a lot considering more than half of their revenue is outside the states.

Dark of the Moon July 4th Results

The 4th of July is over and with it is another notch on Transformers: Dark of the Moon box office belt. The 4th brought another $18.9 million in sales for a US total of $116.5 million for the four day weekend. This in turns crowns the movie as the record holder for most successful July 4th weekend surpassing Spider-Man 2's $88.2M. Grand total, the first six days of release is now at $175.6M which is still behind Revenge of the Fallen's $214.9M. Once again, international sales take up the slack with the movie on track to hit a six day international total $235M for a worldwide total of $416M.

Transformers 3 Weekend Results

Box Office Mojo has posted the weekend estimates for Transformers: Dark of the Moon and the results are looking good. The movie made $97.4 million for the weekend with $32.9M from Friday, $34.6 for Saturday and $29.8 on Sunday. This brings the 5-day US total to $162.1 million which is right in alignment with studio expectations.

DOTM Friday's US Box Office Results

Day 3 of Transformers: Dark of the Moon continues to rack up the totals at the US box office by adding another $33.5 million to its total for $97 million according to Deadline. This is off by 15% on Revenge of the Fallen's numbers but international box office should more than make up the difference since it is doing 35% better.

Day 2 US Box Office Results

On a traditional slow movie day, Transformers: Dark of the Moon adds another $21.5 million to its US box office total for $64.7 million in two days. Current estimates put the movie at hitting $165 million through the July 4th weekend. Impressive but below Revenge of the Fallen's six day total of $214.9 million. It seems the second movie's bad reputation along with the critics’ harsh words about the movie is having an impact on performance.

Transformers 3 First Day Total of $79.4 Million

Transformers: Dark of the Moon's first day haul, with Tuesday's pre-screening numbers, is an impressive total of $79.4 million. The North America box office account for $42.8M with the remaining $36.6M coming from International box office sales. By Friday the movie will be out worldwide except for China and Japan. The total is impressive but falls short of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen first day US total $62 million. On the bright side it is exceeding Transformers 2 in the International market.

It is possible that savage critic reviews have hurt sales with Rotten Tomatoes showing an average of 36%. However, that low number is more than offset by an audience rating of 90%. At this point it is just to early to know if DOTM will send any records tumbling but the International box office totals will be key to any final results.

DOTM's Midnight Box Office Results

The early release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon has netted a US box office total of $13.5 million with $8 million coming from the midnight showings. This is a good total for midnight showing but falls shorts of a record. Transformers had an $8.8 million total while Revenge of the Fallen scored $16.6 million. I can't say I am surprised by the news as I remember leaving the IMAX theater for Revenge having a huge crowd for the 3AM show time while last night for Moon there was just a dozen waiting.