PARAMOUNT’S Latest release, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”, kicked off at the international box office with US$110 million from 68 markets, including a decent US$40 million start in China.
The seventh instalment in the Transformers action franchise also pulled in US$60 million in its North American debut, bringing its worldwide tally to a solid US$170 million.
Overseas audiences will be key to the theatrical success of “Rise of the Beasts,” which cost US$200 million. Prior entries in the 16-year-old live-action series have earned as much as 70 per cent of overall box office returns outside of the US and Canada. In China, which has been a hit-or-miss territory for recent Hollywood films, “Rise of the Beasts” notched the second-best opening weekend of the year.
Other top-grossing territories were Mexico (US$7.3 million), Indonesia (US$5.3 million), Peru (US$5 million), and Korea (US$4.4 million). The film opens in Japan, another major market, in August.
Steven Caple Jr directed the PG-13- rated “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” which stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback as Optimus Prime and the Autobots as they attempt to take out a threat that’s capable of destroying the entire planet.
Reviews were mixed, but audiences seem to be embracing the film. Elsewhere, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” crossed a major milestone with US$800 million at the global box office. With those ticket sales, the the sequel is still trailing its predecessor, 2017’s “Vol. 2”, with US$863 million, but it’s officially surpassed 2014’s original “Guardians of the Galaxy” with US$773 million.
Meanwhile, last week’s champion, Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is nearing US$400 million worldwide after 12 days of play. The global total is US$390 million through Sunday, overtaking “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”’s lifetime total of US$377 million.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that fans are still racing to theatres to watch “Fast X”, even after its digital debut earlier this week.
As it enters its fourth week of release, “Fast X” has grossed more than US$650 million at the worldwide box office.
China contributed US$3.4 million of that total, despite the arrival of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”. The movie has made $132 million in China so far, making it one of the rare Hollywood movies to deliver top results in China after stricter sanctions restricted the number of foreign titles that could be screened there in the post-pandemic era.
