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Box Office Report: “Transformers One” Struggles Against “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
The dynamics of the box office can often yield surprising outcomes, and this past weekend was no exception. While expectations were high for Paramount Pictures’ “Transformers One,” the reality of its opening weekend proved to be more competitive than initially anticipated.
Released as the first fully animated installment in the “Transformers” franchise since 1986, “Transformers One” was projected to perform strongly against the returning hit “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” now in its third weekend. However, the results reflected a tighter race than forecasted.
Current estimates indicate that “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has successfully claimed victory for its third weekend, earning approximately $26 million—a drop of 49% from the previous weekend. With this weekend’s earnings, the film has now surpassed the $200 million milestone, accumulating a domestic total of $226.8 million.
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Despite its strong critical reception—garnering an impressive 89% on Rotten Tomatoes—“Transformers One” generated only $3.36 million during Thursday and early previews. Although it captained Friday’s box office with $9.6 million, including the previews, it ultimately opened in second place with an estimated total of $25 million across 3,978 locations. Audience reception was notably positive, earning an “A” on CinemaScore and a remarkable “Verified Hot” status with 98% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Internationally, it earned an additional $14 million, bringing its global debut to $39 million.
The horror remake “Speak No Evil,” featuring James McAvoy, secured third place with $5.9 million, marking a modest decline of 49% from its opening weekend, totaling $21.5 million domestically.
On the other hand, the Halle Berry-led horror film “Never Let Go” faced challenges despite receiving better reviews than previous Lionsgate releases, achieving a 65% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film started with a mere $360,000 in Thursday previews but improved slightly on Friday with $1.6 million and landed in fourth with an overall estimated weekend total of $4.5 million from 2,667 theaters. Its audience rating resulted in a “C+” on CinemaScore, indicating a lack of enthusiasm compared to critics’ views.
Meanwhile, the superhero film “Deadpool and Wolverine” continues to showcase its staying power in the Top 5 for the ninth straight week, earning another $3.9 million—a decline of just 25%, reaching a total of $627.3 million domestically. Combining this with an additional $3.4 million from overseas, the film’s worldwide total now stands at $1.32 billion.
Demi Moore re-entered the theatrical scene with “The Substance,” directed by Coralie Fargeat and co-starring Margaret Qualley. After its successful debut at the Cannes Film Festival and an initial box office of $3.1 million over the weekend, it accumulated $512,000 during previews. It opened in sixth place, achieving a commendable “B” grade on CinemaScore, a notable achievement for 2024’s genre films.
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The documentary “Am I Racist?” witnessed a decline to seventh place, raking in $2.5 million, thereby reaching a domestic total of $9 million. Following closely was Dennis Quaid’s biopic “Reagan,” which earned $1.9 million, bringing its overall total to $26.8 million, a strong showing for distributor ShowBiz Direct.
Entering the Top 10 was the BTS documentary “Jung Kook: I Am Still,” distributed by Trafalgar Releasing, which garnered $1.4 million over the weekend, accumulating a five-day total of $2.6 million. Additionally, Amazon MGM expanded “My Old Ass” by Megan Park into 33 locations, netting $282,000 for a total of $512,000 ahead of its wider release next weekend. Lastly, A24’s quirky comedy “A Different Man,” starring Sebastian Stan, opened in just four theaters, averaging $14,000 per location.
In the box office prediction game, 39 participants maintained their strategy by backing “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” for the weekend win, while 26 thought “Transformers One” would secure second. Predictions for third and fourth amongst “Never Let Go” and “Speak No Evil” were split.
No participants managed a perfect score this week, though seven achieved five out of six correct predictions, with “cwright55” topping the leaderboard with 13,563 points.
Looking ahead, next Friday promises the release of a new DreamWorks Animation project, “The Wild Robot,” among other titles. A weekend preview of these offerings will be available on Wednesday.
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