The Transformers Franchise Took A Box Office Dip With Rise Of The Beasts - Is It Dead?

Since the release of its inaugural film in 2007, the "Transformers" movies have experienced quite the rise and fall at the box office. There was strong interest in seeing the initial movie, which earned approximately $708 million at the box office.  Over the next several installments, interest only grew, with 2011's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" raking in over $1.1 billion. However, following this release, box office success started to dwindle, and 2023's "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" brought in the lowest total yet for the franchise: a little over $438 million. 

With this in mind, fans might be wondering if the dwindling box office returns could mean the end of the franchise. However, at this point, it doesn't seem to. Paramount has greenlit two additional "Transformers" films to complete the trilogy launched by "Rise of the Beasts." These are in addition to "Transformers One," an animated origin story, set for release in September 2024. However, no release dates or plot details for the rest of the trilogy have been announced at the time of this writing, which means the company could pull the plug if it feels the franchise is failing.

There are a few potential reasons why "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" took a box office dip. While audiences largely praised the film, which boasts a 91 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the same can't be said for critics' reviews. The dismal 52 percent Tomatometer score could have influenced theater-goers to purchase tickets for something else instead.

When "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" hit the big screen on June 9, 2023, it had some tough competition thanks to "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," which dropped a week prior, and "The Flash," which was released on June 16. Even if someone wasn't swayed by the negative critic reviews, these other major releases may have simply been more intriguing.

Some "Transformers" fans have their own theories about the film's box office dip. A few believe its less-than-stellar performance was due to the absence of longtime director Michael Bay, who stepped away from the franchise after 2017's "Transformers: The Last Knight." On Reddit, one user said, "It was Bay that turned that franchise into a worldwide phenomenon and placed it on the world stage as a billion dollar entity... Hate to say it, but Transformers needs Michael Bay."