Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen continued to dominate the market over the weekend after a stellar Wednesday and Thursday. The sci-fi blockbuster attacked 4,234 theaters collecting $109 million domestically from Friday-to-Sunday, which was down a bit from Paramount’s $112 million estimate on Sunday. Still, that was just enough to become the second film ever to top $200 million in five days, although The Dark Knight wins the tiebreaker since its total was slightly higher after its fifth day with $203.8 million versus $200.1 million for the Michael Bay directed film.
At first glance, the numbers don’t quite add up as they should. After all, the weekend actuals were off by $3 million, yet the five day total is down only $1.1 million. That’s because, in an unorthodox move, Paramount revised the Wednesday and Thursday numbers upwards from $60.6 to $62 million for Wednesday and $28.6 to $29.1 million for Thursday. Unlike the Friday-to-Sunday numbers, the Wednesday and Thursday tallies were already official numbers. One has to wonder where the extra $1.9 million is coming from, which conveniently was just enough to push Transformers 2 above $200 million. Regardless, this debut is extraordinary and rocketed beyond the already lofty industry expectations. This opening significantly built upon the first Transformers‘ launch of $155.4 million over six and a half days after launching on a Monday at 7 pm to take full advantage of the Independence Day holiday. The total eventually reached $319.2 million. This sequel looks to easily top $350 million and possibly even $400 million.
Here is a rundown of the major records and milestones that Transformers 2 has set:
Highest Wednesday gross ($62M) topping Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Highest non-opening Thursday ($29.1M) topping Spider-Man 2
Highest non-opening Friday ($36.7M) topping Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Largest June opening weekend ($109M) topping Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Largest opening of the year topping X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Largest Wednesday-Sunday tally ($200.1M) topping Spider-Man 2
Second largest 5-day debut ever behind The Dark Knight
Second largest overall opening day behind The Dark Knight
Third largest midnight debut ($16 million)
Largest and widest IMAX debut eclipsing Star Trek
UPDATE: The Numbers is reporting the reasoning behind Paramount’s sudden revisal in Transformers 2’s numbers on Wednesday and Thursday is because of late reports from IMAX and a sizable amount of theaters in Puerto Rico.
Box Office Data Sources: Box Office Mojo and The Numbers
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Filed under: Movies, Weekend Box Office | Tagged: Box office, Entertainment, Michael Bay, Star Trek, Transformers
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