Animated prequel fell behind Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Box Office Mojo reported on Sunday that Transformers One, the new animated film prequel to the Transformers franchise, has earned US$25 million over its opening weekend, landing at #2 at the U.S. box office.
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice maintained its #1 spot for the third week in a row, with US$26 million.
Initial projections placed the film’s opening weekend revenue in the US$30-$40 million range. The film earned US$3.36 million during Thursday preview screenings.
The film cost US$75 million to produce.
The film opened in the U.S. on Friday following another delay. The film was initially announced for a July 19 opening, before being delayed the first time until September 13.
Transformers One centers on the relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron, and takes place on Cybertron, the shared homeworld of both the protagonist Autobots and antagonist Decepticons.
The film’s cast includes:
- Chris Hemsworth as Optimus Prime
- Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron
- Scarlett Johansson as Elita
- Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee
- Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime
- Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion
The film also opened in Japan on Friday.
Steven Spielberg is an executive producer for the animated film, alongside Brian Goldner, Brian Oliver, Bradley J. Fischer, and Valerii An. Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley is directing the film. Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man and the Wasp) are writing the script. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto, Don Murphy, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian, and Aaron Dem are producers.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the first film in a planned trilogy for its live-action Transformers franchise, opened in June 2023, delayed almost one year from its original June 2022 release date. The film got a release in Japan in August 2023 under the title Transformers: Beast Kakusei.
Source: Box Office Mojo via Variety, (link 2)
