Posted on 07/07/2007 11:00:54 AM PDT by hardback
SATURDAY AM: Paramount says PG-13 Transformers made $22.5 million Friday from 4,011 North American theaters and has a new cume of $107.4 million. Box office gurus tell me that, after a record breaking Fourth Of July week opening, the DreamWorks battle of the bots should haul in $60 million this weekend for a 6 1/2-day cume of $150 million. That's 50% more gross receipts than Paramount anticipated, and 20% more than box office gurus predicted. That's also equivalent to the budget of the rock 'em, sock 'em movie without marketing costs. "Word has gotten out to the parents that it's OK to take the kids," a Paramount exec told me Friday. The studio just told me it believes Transformers's first 6 1/2 days of release positions it as one of the biggest non-sequel 7-day openings of all time, alongside Spider-Man 1, The Passion Of The Christ and Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone. Cinemascope gives Transformers an A with "under 18" and "18 to 24 years olds" giving it an A+. Biggest reason why moviegoers went to see it was "subject matter" (63%) and "type of movie" (35%). Other data have showed a strong nostalgia factor for Transformer toys and toons. Paramount also tells me preliminary exit polling shows that, among general audiences, Transformers is playing strongest with general audiences' older females (Moms) and through the roof with kids (90% of boys say they would definitely recommend) and parents (82% say they would definitely recommend). But the studio believes that what is making the big box office difference is not just African Americans flocking to see the film but especially Latino audiences. They attribute this to the casting of Amaury Nolasco, the star of a popular telenovela as well as Fox's Prison Break who in the movie plays ACWO Jorge "Fig" Figueroa. He was recently included in a USA Today list of the 26 guys to watch. Meanwhile, Transformers has smashed one-day records for Tuesday ($27.8M), Wednesday ($29M), and Thursday ($19.1M) as well as for Independence Day. On Monday night, the pic directed by Michael Bay and supervised by Steven Spielberg took in $8.8M.
Disney / Pixar's runner up Ratatouille took in $9.5 Friday from 3,940 venues, a drop of 42% from last week. But its Monday, Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday opening week grosses proved to be the biggest ever for a Pixar film. So far Remy's cume is $90 mil. But the rat's merchandising remains a challenge for the studio. In 3rd place, Live Free Or Die Hard made $5.3 mil Friday from 3,411 playdates, or a drop of 49% compared to last week. So far, the Bruce Willis action film's cume is $71.9 mil. Comedy newcomer from Warner's, License To Wed (with some of the worst ads I've ever seen), placed fourth with a $3.6 mil Friday from 2,604 theaters and a new cume of $11 mil. In 5th place, Universal's Evan Not So Almighty continues to lag its 3rd week out. That predictions it won't even break $100 mill is looking truer every weekend. It took in just $2.7 mil from 3,460 venues for a new cume of $72.7 mil. MGM / The Weinstein Co's horror film 1408 is 6th after making another $2.3 mil Friday from 2,631 playdates. Its new cume is $48.9 mil. Universal's six-week veteran laugher Knocked Up is sticking alive and kicking; in 7th place, it earned $1.6 mil Friday from 2,219 theaters for a new cume of $128.4 mil. No. 8 Fox's Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer is petering out after four weeks: it made just $1.2 mil Friday from 2,219 venues for a new cume of $120.8 mil. So is #9 Warner's Ocean's Thirteen at the start of its 5th week in release: it earned only $1.1 mil Friday from 2,102 theaters for a new cume of $106.7 mil. And, completing the Top 10, Michael Moore's Sicko health care documentary from The Weinstein Co took in another $1 mil from 702 theaters for a new cume of $8.8 mil.
I never kept up with anything new Transformers. The most recent cartoon I saw was Beast Wars, and that was plenty of time ago.
Actually, Omega Supreme was old Transformers. He was a rocket base stationed on the moon, and only came out to blast the Decepticons whenever Optimus Prime got into really bad trouble, usually in outer space. Starscream used to run away from him like a little wussie.
>Me Grimlock king!
If I remember, Grimlock also objected to the notion that he was a “bozo”.
That’s exactly it
“Me Grimlock not bozo, me Grimlock king!”
It wasn't as effective an attack as he wanted, but it was enough to send a 7-year old into a fit of the giggles.
I have a shirt of that *looks around*
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