The robots’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through this Independence Day weekend that the Transformers franchise still had muscle to spare. Transformers: Dark of the Moon, third in Michael Bay’s HASBRO-Spielberg series of epic-length, fortissimo toy commercials, earned $97.4 million during the standard three-day weekend, and $116.4 million for the four-day holiday frame, according to early studio estimates. In its first six-and-a-half days, from Tuesday-night screenings through July 4th, the 3-Destructo-fest will have earned about $181 million in North America. Those mighty numbers left all competitors in the rubble, including Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, whose recession-era romantic comedy Larry Crowne took in just $15.7 million from Friday to Monday, or about a seventh of the Transformers haul.
Optimus Prime and his bot pals hit a goal that most blockbusters aim for: attracting customers who are young and male and willing to pay extra for the bells, whistles and tinted glasses. Three-fifths of the film’s gross came from 3-D showings, and $13.8 million from IMAX screens. A solid “A” CinemaScore rating from early moviegoers indicates that Dark of the Moon isn’t going away any time soon. And as hot as T3 was in North America, it was scalding abroad. The movie equivalent of an all-star tractor pull earned $217 million in 58 territories, which was more than 50% ahead of the overseas take for the series’ 2009 predecessor, Revenge of the Fallen. Nearly $400 million in a week: all in all, well played, sirs.
