Robotic sci-fi saga transforms stunning visuals into hard cash

THE shape-shifting robots of Transformers have taken on a new form: huge piles of cash.

The sci-fi saga Transformers, DreamWorks and Paramount’s big-screen take on the Hasbro toys, debuted with $67.6 million (€49.6m) in ticket sales in its first weekend. That gave it $152.5m since opening on Monday night.

If the weekend figures hold, that would give Transformers the biggest first week takings ever for a non-sequel, surpassing the $151.6m of 2002’s Spider-Man, though factoring in today’s higher ticket prices Spider-Man drew more people in its first week, about 26.1m compared to Transformers’ 22.5m.

Transformers was directed by Michael Bay and features a cast led by Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who are among the humans hurled into the action when two races of warring robots bring their feud to Earth.

The striking visual effects and the Transformers brand — which debuted in the 1980s with toys, a TV show and an animated movie — proved irresistible for audiences, said Rob Moore, Paramount’s head of worldwide marketing and distribution.

“Michael Bay created something visually that people hadn’t seen before. When you look at a jet plane flying under a bridge then flipping and turning into a robot, those kinds of images people found incredibly unique and compelling.”

Overall, the US box office plunged. The top 12 movies took in $161.5m, down 23% from the same weekend last year when Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest opened with what was then a record weekend of $135.6m.

“The good news is we’ve got another big one right around the corner with Harry Potter,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. The weekend’s other new wide release, the Warner Bros comedy License to Wed, took fourth place with $10.4m. It stars Robin Williams as a minister who forces an engaged couple (Mandy Moore and John Krasinski) through a tortuous marital boot camp.

The previous weekend’s No 1 film, Disney’s animated Ratatouille, dropped to second place with $29m, raising its 10-day total to $109.5m.

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End took in $3m to climb to $301.7m in the US, following Sony’s Spider-Man 3 and DreamWorks’ Shrek the Third as $300m hits this year.

In limited release, MGM’s Rescue Dawn started strongly with $104,000 in six cinemas. It stars Christian Bale in the real-life story of a US pilot struggling to survive after he’s shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. Die Hard 4.0, starring Bruce Willis was in third at $17.4m, while Evan Almighty was fifth with $8.1m.