Paramount is gonna call me screaming any moment. But rival studios are telling me they expect Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen to open with a high of $175M for its 5-day opening from Wednesday, June 24 to Sunday, June 28. Because the sequel came onto tracking HUGE today. Paramount will try to lower expectations. But here's what can't be argued: Spider-Man 2 opened on Wednesday, June 30, 2004, and did $152 million for its first 5 days. So Transformers 2 feels like at least it should be in the $160+M range. (See my box office report on Transformers 1.)



I must be living in bizarro world. Where the shit rises to the top
And the list of @$$holes who stand to benefit financially from this craptacular is ASTOUNDING.
No surprise. People love giant robots. Recently, a TV spot was cut for this that was the highest testing spot in Marketcast history. Want spots for THE PROPOSAL to test off the charts? Put in giant robots!
Transformers was cool, anyone looking for deep meaning in talking robots, should go somewhere else!! I for one will be at the first show!!!
Judging by the trailers I think it will be worth the price of admission.
Well that’s an impressive prediction. I can’t say it’s a surprise though. I feel like everybody I know is planning to see this movie. Giant robots do good work apparently.
Film snobs,
Get over it.
Love,
Michael Bay laughing to the bank and the go ahead to make any movie he wants for the rest of his life.
Between this and Star Trek, Paramount is looking to have a good summer. While I don’t expect anything great/deep from Michael Bay, I do expect mindless fun. I’m sure Transformers 2 won’t disappoint in that aspect so I’ll probably enjoy the movie just fine.
yes, these films (michael bay especially) seem to draw out a deep seeded insecurity and a sort of reverse american anti-intellectualism (how’s that for film snobbery, you silly bags).
The first one worked well because Stephen Spielberg sat on Bay and forced him to deliver character development – at least up to page 75. Then I can just see him saying “Okay kid, knock yourself out” because the only thing that was developed after that was the raw stock.
If a studio wants to break box office records, then why don’t they release it on a Friday? They release it early and it fizzles out or am I missing the big picture?
People love robots yet Hollywood has yet to make a really great mech movie? What gives?
C’mon people! I fully expect the Monday after Transformers2 opens to see a whole host of old Japanese cartoons being snapped up by studios.
And if Warners can’t get their Robotech project moving while the public clamor for (what is sure to be) nonsense like Transformers 2 then they all deserve to be slapped.
I so loathe the crybaby comments of film snobs.We all know a movie about giant robot isn’t going to be intellectually stimulating, that’s why millions of people see them;They want to be entertained, not beating over the head with supposed “deep and meaningful” messages and whatnot.If hollywood made only those “deep and meaningful” films, hollywood would go bankrupt.Some people see films as an art form, others see it as a means to get away from reality, and all the troubles they may have.This has been the case since the beginning of the talking pictures.Now, think very hard about the films of the past(before the 80s) most people loved, that were hammer by critics, and imagine what would be the film industry of today, if those films were never made
It is a summer MOVIE, as in something FUN to go and watch.
It has no conceit that it is great film. You film aficionados should be glad that you have fair warning and can spend your time going to an offering more to your tastes.
The geeks have taken over the world and I love it!
Big miscalculation. Forget about the five days. It’ll shatter the 3 day record set by The Dark Knight. Even those who found the first one to be shit still want to see this. And on top of that you have sequences that were shot in IMAX. Giant fucking Robots mashing it up on a 70ft screen? Forget it. Money will be raining over Paramount on the 24th.
Add a giant spider and this baby will open HUGE.
“Michael Bay was born to direct TRANSFORMERS”.
–Steven Spielberg
All the self-absorbed SAG bacteria are just being negative because the robots don’t get residuals….
won’t break the opening weekend record. Opening weekend only takes into account the Fri-Sun grosses. Even if Transformers gets a higher first 3 days (wed to fri), it won’t be recognized since it is NOT the weekend.
Rumor has it, in Transformers 3, the robots are gonna cross SAG picket lines to go to work!
Transformers 3 really needs to have Unicron in it. With current special fx tech, it should be very doable to show Unicron attacking the Earth. I can’t believe that they would pass up the opportunity to depict something so grandiose as a robotic, transforming planet attempting to eat planet Earth. That would be coolness squared.
@anotherwhatever: The first one worked well because Stephen Spielberg sat on Bay and forced him to deliver character development – at least up to page 75.
That’s why it DIDN’T work. It’s called TRANSFORMERS, not SHIA and MEGAN.
I can be as much of a film snob as the rest of you…but sometimes I want loud robots blowing stuff up, not a story about a kid and his car.
I read that Robotech and Voltron are in the works after the first transformers success. I liked the first Transformers so I will watch the sequel.
Big robots, big explosions and character development are not mutually exclusive.
They better make Robotech a mature sci-fi movie and not one of these cheesefest teeny-bopper summer blockbusters
The script for this film sucks, and it’s racist to boot. Aliens built the pyramids? Give me a break. I guess robots had to do it because ancient Egyptians were too primitive or something? Racist. Culturally bankrupt. Stupid. I bet thousands of stupid Americans walk away from this film believing that alien robots built the pyramids.
Remember: this film was written in 2 weeks during the run-up to the writers guild strike. How good could it possibly be?
Yes, everyone who sees this movie is immediately going to think alien robots built the pyramids…that probably goes for the Great Wall of China as well. I hope your comment was a joke Robot Hater, or else you just proved yourself to be one of the world’s greatest morons.
The first movie failed even on the level of mindless summer fun – mainly because the male lead was about as appealing as a 2×4 to the face. I can’t imagine this one will be any better.
Why is it that you can’t criticize crappy moves like TRANSFORMERS without getting tarred with the “film snob” brush? I love giant robots and velociraptors and car chases and gun fights and huge explosions as much as the next geeked-out fanboy, but is it really asking too much to want some character development, good dialog, and a plot that makes friggin’ sense, too?
I don’t complain about TRANSFORMERS because it’s not MY DINNER WITH ANDRE. I complain because it should have been an amazing summer thrill ride, but all it is is a grab bag of indecipherable FX, warmed-over ALIAS plot lines, gags about robots peeing, and shit blowing up. The main villain doesn’t even show his face until the end and then only has, what, five lines? And by character development, I’m talking about the ROBOTS, not The Beef and The Fox. Hey, the robots walk and talk and (are supposed to) have personalities. Maybe they can be characters instead of walking/talking props? Hell, even Jar Jar Binks had more going on as a character than any of the damn robots in the first film.
TRANSFORMERS isn’t 1/10th of the movie experience of a RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK or even IRON MAN or SPIDEY 2. And I think that you don’t have to be a snob to realize that “mindless summer fun” does not automatically have to equal “shit.” No wonder nobody in this town cares about making action movies good anymore; we’ve given up asking. It’s as if I should feel privileged to pay my $11.50 for a two-hour VFX reel. But asking for a story? The scandal! What am I, a communist?
Ok i dont really mind if you lot miss it out or hate bay for ruining your childhood. Just leave out the film and move on if so. Meanwhile me and 9 friends are going to see it near opening day twice
“All the self-absorbed SAG bacteria are just being negative because the robots don’t get residuals…”
And why shouldn’t they? The animators/fx people should get residuals at least…
TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN WILL BE AWESOME!!!
JUNE 24th. THE WAR CONTINUES..
Keep an eye on STARSCREAM in this one.
“Transformers built the pyramids, I thought the Predators showed the humans how to build them, meh
you learn something new everyday” LOL.
I can’t believe people argue over why some people
like certain movies, and some don’t. It doesn’t
matter. It doesn’t bother me that some people don’t
like Bay, or the Transformers movies. If Bay would have made the Transformers movies more serious like the Terminator films, everyone would be saying he copied the Terminator franchise. The Humor is just that humor, as the Joker would say “WHY SO SERIOUS”
Right on, Film lover equals film snob?!
Time was when audiences responded to big sci-fi/action movies that had memorable characters in between the action scenes (STAR WARS, RAIDERS, DIE HARD…) and storylines that were actually compelling. Now it seems that all you have to do is throw enough CGI at some people, and they won’t mind empty characters and dumbass plotting (hey, Shia, it’s vitally important you get to a rooftop…why don’t you go to the one building in the city WITH NO WORKING ELEVATOR). I heard a lot of people defending TRANSFORMERS by saying all they wanted was “nonstop mindless action,” forgetting they had to sit through an hour or so of flat acting and cheesy humor to get to the action parts.
I have no doubt TRANSFORMERS 2 will be huge…and who knows, it might be better than the original. If not, it’ll be comforting that the two runners-up (STAR TREK and UP) are movies that value character and storytelling over pointless spectacle.
It won’t break the 5 days opening record which is currently held by non other TDK 203M
It might have a chance to break ST3- Revenge of the Sith which is at 172M. Both Spidey3 and Pirates3 are at 169M
It might have a shot at breaking Harry..Phoenix Wednessay opening of 44M or even Spidey3 Friday’s opening at 51M .
All said, seems this Summer is not living up to expectations what with Wolverine, A&D being stinker. Thank god for Star Trek, UP and a personal fav Terminator Salvation.
Here’s hoping for Transfomer to wrong the rights until Harry Potter comes along. Anyone wanna bet Harry will open huge?
@Warner Borg: Warner Bros made that movie. MATRIX REVOLUTIONS. Garbage.
And people LOVE robots – how long has FOX used the NFL robots going into each commercial break? And the robo-turkey in November? It’s nearing a decade now.
And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for TRANNY 2. Seat reserved at TheBridge IMAX, etc…
the movies was crazey i loved it so much im big fan of transfomer from little im 28konw i even buy all the old dvds beucase i nevery got 2 wacth themm when i was younger beucase i move i watch the first movie and the 2 one woww
so much beeter andthats hard 2 say that the 2 movie beeter then fisrst one im hopeing it make 5 moveis and not stop at 3 so im hopeing it kill in the box office so they well make alot more then 3
Some of you guys just can’t seem to understand the success of these movies. “It’s the audience, stupid.”