Transformers: The Last Knight Tracking For $70 Million Domestic Debut
Transformers: The Last Knight is looking to make a big impression overseas. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is only tracking for a $70 million five-day domestic debut, meaning that it will have to do big work internationally to make up its $217 million (before marketing) budget.
The Last Knight, the last of the franchise to be directed by Michael Bay and potentially the last for star Mark Wahlberg, is set to redefine the franchise by exposing the hidden history of the Transformers on Earth. While the movie has an impressive cast including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel, Stanley Tucci, and Jerrod Carmichael, buzz has been low, with the film failing to garner much chatter on social media amidst a summer full of big budget action movies.
The Last Night is pegged for a between $70 and $75 million haul domestically over its five-day release period, with the film hitting theaters everywhere on Wednesday after going into previews on Tuesday night. It is notable that reviews for the movie have yet to be released, a strategy some studios are using as they deal with the increasing power of review aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes at the box office.
The movie's competition includes DC's Wonder Woman, which will be entering its fourth week in theaters but shows no signs of slowing down; Pixar's Cars 3, which won last weekend but could see a sharp drop amid middling reviews; and Tom Cruise's The Mummy, which is still struggling to find its footing domestically. The Last Knight is the only wide release this weekend, with Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled and Kumail Nanjiani's The Big Sick both entering limited release.
Should The Last Knight fall within or below initial estimates, it will easily hit the lowest opening weekend for any film in the Transformers franchise since the first movie, which opened with $70.5 million. The second film showed improvement from the first with $108.9 million, while the third continued to rise with $115.8 million. Age of Extinction saw the franchise's first notable drop with $100 million, although that film joined Dark of the Moon as one of just two films in the franchise to top $1 billion worldwide.
It's this worldwide appeal that The Last Knight is counting on. Like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Last Knight could see overseas viewers who are more forgiving of the long-running franchise than domestic viewers, who are increasingly shying away from sequels and reboots. The movie is set to open in 42 foreign territories this weekend, including major markets like China, Australia, and Russia, and will likely overtake The Mummy for the number one spot at the international box office. The worldwide box office has shown to be a lifeboat for domestic flops, but it still could be difficult for The Last Knight to come out with a solid profit, especially if reviews end up being negative.
Regardless of The Last Knight's performance, there are already quite a few future Transformers movies planned, including a Bumblebee spin-off starring Hailee Steinfeld. The franchise's unneeded longevity puts it at the top of our list of movies with unnecessary sequels.