Transformers One has garnered an impressive 89% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also has a score of 62 out of 100 after 26 reviews on Metacritic. Despite the critical success, Transformers One could become a box-office disappointment if the current trend holds. It’ll be the second one for Chris Hemsworth in 2024 after Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, who voices Orion Pax in the latest outing.
Transformers One’s box office fails to claim top spot at opening weekend
Transformers One was one of the most highly-anticipated animated features of the year. However, following its debut on September 20, it failed to claim the No. 1 spot in its domestic opening weekend.
As per Deadline, it brought in $25 million domestically and finished behind Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s $26 million, which was on its third weekend.
Transformers One was one of the three movies to come out in the U.S. and Canada in the September 20-22 weekend alongside The Substance and Never Let Go, and was projected to make over $30 million at the box office during that period.
But, it underperformed, grossing $9.56 million from 3,978 theaters on its opening day (which includes the $3.4 million the movie earned through the Wednesday and Thursday previews), $9.1 million on Saturday, and $6.2 million on Sunday. Additionally, it collected another $14 million in the international markets, taking the global tally to around $39 million.
Why Transformers One could be Chris Hemsworth’s second 2024 flop
Transformers One had a production budget of around $75 million. It’s unclear exactly how much Paramount spent on its marketing expenditure. But, the general assumption for most films’ marketing budget is almost as much as the production budget.
So, assuming the total money that Paramount likely invested on Transformers One to be around $150 million, and keeping in mind a roughly 40-60% cut of the theater chains from every dollar earned, Transformers One would likely need to make between $250-300 million globally to turn in a profit. Given its underperforming opening numbers, this target becomes a tough ask.
It’s always possible for the critics’ word of mouth to help people discover the film in the coming weeks. However, with incoming competition from tentpole films such as Joker: Folie à Deux and Venom: The Last Dance, Transformers One could struggle.
If it does flop, it will be Hemsworth’s second box-office disappointment of the year after Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The Mad Max prequel made $172.8 million at the global box office on a $168 million production budget. It likely turned in a loss for Warner Bros. not having reached its $350-375 million global box office threshold.
