Movies
Box Office Recap: ‘Transformers: Age Of Extinction’ Dominates With $100 Million
Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction became the first film of the year to debut with $100 million at the domestic box office, according to Rentrak.
The fourth installation outperformed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and its $95 million debut in April.
Not only was the robot action film prosperous domestically – in over 4,233 locations, with more than 350 of them showing in IMAX – it grossed an additional $201 million from 37 foreign markets, including a record $90 million from China. This totals out at $301.3 million from just its first debut weekend worldwide.
“This is the summer’s best chance at a $1 billion dollar film and after this weekend it’s well on its way to getting to that point,” said Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
Though the Paramount Pictures summer blockbuster may have received a very low Rotten Tomatoes score, 17 percent from critics to be exact, it still successfully reached its record breaking goal as expected.
Audience members, who were more than 60 percent male, seemed to have disagreed with critics, as the film received an A minus CinemaScore. The new cast, with male lead Mark Wahlberg, has allowed the story to evolve and remain appealing to mass audiences.
“All of the new elements worked out great,” said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures. “Mark Wahlberg has taken on the leadership of the franchise and Michael [Bay] has re-energized this franchise.”
Moore continued to predict that the film would do well in the coming week leading into Independence Day.
“These movies have traditionally played over the Fourth of July holiday,” he said. “There’s lots of generational viewing, with parents watching them with their kids, so it feels like we should have a great ten or eleven days.”
In its third week of release, 22 Jump Street slid down to second place, taking in $15.4 million. DreamWorks Animation’s family fun movie How to Train Your Dragon 2 fell right below in third place with $13.1 million. Kevin Hart’s Think Like a Man Too dropped 65 percent in its second week, grossing $10.4 million in fourth place.
See what films made the top 10 list at the box office this weekend by clicking “Next”!
10. Chef – $1.7 million
Film Synopsis
Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) suddenly quits his job at a prominent Los Angeles restaurant after refusing to compromise his creative integrity for its controlling owner (Dustin Hoffman), he is left to figure out what’s next. Finding himself in Miami, he teams up with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara), his friend (John Leguizamo) and his son to launch a food truck. Taking to the road, Chef Carl goes back to his roots to reignite his passion for the kitchen — and zest for life and love.
9. X-Men: Days of Future Past – $3.3 million
Film Synopsis
The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The beloved characters from the original X-Men film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, X-Men: First Class, in order to change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save our future.
8. The Fault In Our Stars – $4.8 million
Film Synopsis
Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them – and us – on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. The Fault in Our Stars, based upon the number-one bestselling novel by John Green, explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love.
7. Edge of Tomorrow – $5.2 million
Film Synopsis
The epic action of Edge of Tomorrow unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop-forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.
6. Jersey Boys – $7.6 million
Film Synopsis
Clint Eastwood’s big screen version of the Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of the four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic `60s rock group The Four Seasons. Their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the hit songs that influenced a generation, and are now being embraced by a new generation of fans through the stage musical.
5. Maleficent – $8.2 million
Film Synopsis
Maleficent explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic Sleeping Beauty and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.
4. Think Like A Man Too – $10.4 million
Film Synopsis
In the highly anticipated sequel, which was inspired by Steve Harvey’s best-selling book Act Like a Lady, Think Like A Man, all the couples are back for a wedding in Las Vegas. But plans for a romantic weekend go awry when their various misadventures get them into some compromising situations that threaten to derail the big event.
3. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – $13.1 million
Film Synopsis
DreamWorks Animation returns to the world of dragons and Vikings in this sequel to their successful 2010 outing How to Train Your Dragon. The original film followed the exploits of a Viking chief’s son, who must capture a dragon in order to mark his passage into manhood and prove his worthiness to the tribe.
2. 22 Jump Street – $15.4 million
Film Synopsis
After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don’t have to just crack the case – they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them.
1. Transformers: Age of Extinction – $100 million
Film Synopsis
Transformers: Age of Extinction begins after an epic battle left a great city torn, but with the world saved. As humanity picks up the pieces, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history…while an ancient, powerful new menace sets Earth in its crosshairs. With help from a new cast of humans (led by Mark Wahlberg), Optimus Prime and the Autobots rise to meet their most fearsome challenge yet. In an incredible adventure, they are swept up in a war of good and evil, ultimately leading to a climactic battle across the world.