While it enjoyed critical and commercial reception, Paramount/Hasbro Entertainment’s Transformers One got off to a slow start at the box office, earning just $10 million on its opening day, including $3.4 million from previews due to its $26.3 million opening weekend.
That’s below projections for a $30 million opening within the $75 million animated film, as well as Paramount’s 2023 animated opening for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. It also puts “Transformers One” in a tight race for the No. 1 spot against Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice” is set to earn an estimated $24.5 million in its third weekend, while its domestic haul reaches $225 million.
Not all is lost for Optimus Prime. While the live-action/CGI Transformers movies were known for being dismissed by critics even when they were brought to the masses, Transformers One won over skeptics and Transformers fans alike, earning an excellent A in both CinemaScore and Rotten polls. Tomato won 88% from critics and 97% from listeners.
These strong characters leave open hope that the film can capture mainstream audiences’ attention and take off in the coming weeks. But for that, Transformers One will have to compete next weekend with another animated title: Universal/DreamWorks’ Wild Robot, which is also earning critical acclaim as it racks up 35 reviews with a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. recorded. Like “Transformers One,” “Robot Savage” is also looking to break out, as projections for the weekend are relatively low, between $21 million and $24 million.
Elsewhere, horror film “Never Go” continued Lionsgate’s deep slide, earning just $4.2 million in an estimated weekend from 2,667 theaters. That’s less than the second weekend of Universal/Blumhouse’s “Say No Evil,” which grossed about $5.8 million in that frame for a domestic total of $21.3 million.
Lionsgate’s recent releases “The Crow,” “Borderlands” and “The Killer’s Game” all opened under $10 million and failed to even crack $20 million domestically. “Never Let Go,” which has a $20 million budget, will likely do the same with a C+ CinemaScore and a 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rounding out the top five is Mubi’s The Substance, with $2.6 million from 1,949 screens. The body horror comedy Coraline, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, opened moviegoers up to more horror spectacle, earning a B CinemaScore, with an RT score of 89% from critics and 75% from audiences.
