On its first day of release in North America, Transformers broke box office records its Tuesday box office reached $35.4 million, setting a new North American Tuesday box office record.
By Wednesday, the film's box office didn't drop but instead rose. Although it only increased by 5%, the $37.17 million also set a new North American Wednesday record.
However, since these were workdays and a large portion of Transformers fans had already rushed in during the first two days, the film saw an 11% drop on Thursday, closing at $33.08 million.
In just three non-holiday weekdays, Transformers surpassed the $100 million mark at the North American box office.
Among the key reasons for this were the long-standing fan base of Transformers and Duke's formidable personal appeal.
Starting Friday, Transformers entered its first weekend in North America. Thanks to the previous three days of screenings, word-of-mouth had already spread. Although reviews were mixed, audiences still flocked to theaters.
In casual audience word-of-mouth, Transformers was described as a brilliantly thrilling sci-fi action blockbuster the very type most popular with summer moviegoers.
"In those beautiful times, our eyes were full of vivid colors, dazzling transformation sequences; our ears filled with the sound of mechanical friction and pulse-pounding rock music; fascinating sci-fi concepts and a flood of tech terminology made our young minds work at full speed; in those times, we were all little spectators on the edge of the grand cosmic stage, experiencing all the joy, anger, sorrow, and delight in the battles between good and evil, beauty and ugliness."
"Gorgeous imagination, lively storytelling, and excellent production made Transformers perfectly blend into our childhood lives, becoming an unforgettable classic in our memories."
The repeat viewings by Transformers fans were the film's most fundamental box office support.
And the support from the vast majority of casual moviegoers was the key to the film's explosive box office growth.
Since its release, Transformers has indeed faced some criticism, with some saying it's overly commercial. But the overall reaction from mainstream North American media and movie fans has been quite positive. The jaw-dropping action scenes and epic background music thrilled audiences, with many casual viewers saying the film's visual impact was on par with watching Jurassic Park in 1993. "It's like sitting in the theater stunned I'd rather die than go to the bathroom!"
Although the film skewed toward a younger audience, there was no shortage of viewers in their thirties and forties.
"I'm over thirty, but the moment I heard Optimus Prime say 'Autobots, transform' in the theater, my eyes welled up with tears." That's what one fan wrote on a forum. And the deep emotional connection that generation has with Transformers is exactly the foundation that allowed this live-action animated film to achieve such a high box office.
Warner Bros.' spokesperson Mike Wallman also came out to cheer for the film, "Transformers has achieved the best three-day weekday box office in history. This movie has incredibly wide appeal. It's the kind of summer blockbuster that the whole family can enjoy, and we're excited to see it continue to soar over the weekend."
Indeed, Transformers received mixed reviews in North America, but most of the criticism came from a fading group of professional film critics.
Comments like "Duke Rosenberg doesn't know how to portray character depth and humanity" or "The director who once gave us The Dark Knight actually made such a crappy movie" were everywhere.
Even Kenneth Turan, a columnist for The Los Angeles Times who's usually friendly to Duke, felt the film went overboard on special effects.
"Robots crashing through entire buildings after colliding, skyscrapers toppling into the streets, fighter jets soaring overhead, the ultimate showdown between Megatron and heroic Optimus Prime… all amid deafening battle sounds and intense heavy metal music. The endless CGI scenes are just too much too much to bear, and frankly, unnecessary. The crew should reassess their strategy instead of just goofing around on screen with all these transformations and fights. I mean, CGI is a critical element in this movie, but our pizza can't be made entirely out of CGI."
Yet few moviegoers bought into that. Transformers wasn't made for people who like slow, mellow films.
The box office is the best proof of how much this film is loved in North America.
For a big summer commercial release, weekend box office numbers are crucial. On Friday, the start of its opening weekend, Transformers delivered an outstanding result.
Even though it had already been showing for three days in North America, the film still raked in $37.26 million on Friday alone.
After the global premiere event in China, the crew split into two groups. Duke led a small team that stayed in China to support promotions throughout the Western Pacific region. Tina Fey led the main cast and crew back to North America to focus on promoting in that key market.
During one press event, producer Tina Fey was asked by a reporter about the professional critics' attacks on the film.
Influenced by Duke, her dislike for film critics ran deep.
"All the crew members worked as hard as they could, and I'm happy to see that audiences except the critics love this movie. So let's just ignore those critics. Can they represent the audience? No! So, first and foremost, a movie should be liked by the audience."
Facing a sea of reporters, Tina Fey didn't mince her words, "In North America, the free market ideology runs deep. If audiences didn't like a movie, they wouldn't spend a penny on it. But the current situation is that most viewers clearly love Transformers. So why care about the opinions of a group of just over 300 people?"
Compared to Duke, who sometimes needs to mind his public image, Tina Fey's words were far more direct. "Despite harsh criticism from film critics, the majority of viewers still flocked to theaters to watch the Transformers live-action movie. That fact alone is the main reason why critics are angry and lashing out because their opinions are being ignored by the public."
"They are a group living in the past. The times have changed, but they haven't. They still think they're the center of the film industry that a review can determine a movie's life or death. They keep assuming they can pick movies for the entire country based on their own preferences, trying to influence what films people should or shouldn't see."
"But now, information is more freely available. The new generation won't blindly trust any so-called professional when choosing what movie to watch. They'll buy tickets based on their own tastes. To be blunt, film critics are part of a rapidly declining profession."
"This situation has led many critics to feel resentful. They've started to abandon what little objectivity they once had, trying to lecture young audiences. They're supposed to objectively comment on the film itself, but they end up clashing with mainstream viewers. It's because they've stopped speaking from a cinematic perspective and instead attack audiences' tastes, holding their own opinions above all else."
"In truth, these critics are no longer worth our attention. They're hardly 'reviewing films' anymore they're just shouting at the top of their lungs, trying to reclaim the spotlight they had ten or twenty years ago as critics."
When asked about her view on Duke's work, Tina Fey was full of praise. "We, his friends, call his way of working the 'Duke Operating System.' It feels like being in a war. Total chaos. Explosions everywhere. Cameras set up in every imaginable spot around the set. You stand there feeling like an idiot, not knowing what to do. But once Duke finishes editing—my God—the result is amazing. He practically choreographs brilliant ballets with his cameras. He knows exactly where every little fragment belongs. His mind is incredibly sharp."
Data released by a certain research agency might be the best commentary on Tina Fey's view of the critics.
CinemaScore conducted a four-day statistical survey at four of the most well-known cinemas in the United States. The survey, bluntly titled "Would you choose a movie based on reviews by well-known critics?" placed prominent critics in an extremely awkward position when the results were released.
Survey results published in various mainstream media outlets showed that the percentage of audiences who completely ignored critic reviews at the four cinemas were 84%, 79%, 81%, and 82%, respectively.
Meanwhile, those who truly said they chose movies based on reviews by well-known critics were only 2.3%, 1.9%, 2.2%, and 1.3%, and nearly all of them were over thirty-five years old.
Of course, the Saturday and Sunday box office results of Transformers are perhaps the clearest evidence that the influence of professional critics on the market can be completely disregarded.
Although the film's box office declined over those two days, the drop was limited, and Transformers continued to perform in a healthy, normal trend that aligned with market expectations.
Saturday's single-day box office dropped only 4% from Friday, earning $35.77 million; Sunday's drop was slightly higher, but still only 11%, bringing in $31.83 million.
During its first weekend in North America, Transformers easily took the number one spot at the box office with $104.86 million.
Its cumulative North American box office also reached $210.51 million.
Transformers performed remarkably not just in the North American market—it was also very well received overseas in hundreds of countries and territories. For instance, in South Korea, it wasn't just the best-performing film in online pre-sale history, but within one week of release, it drew 4.31 million moviegoers, setting a new box office record in Korea.
In the same week, Transformers raked in a staggering $232.11 million from international markets.
In just seven days of release, its global box office reached an astonishing $442.62 million.
Although it didn't quite match the first-week global box office of Pirates of the Caribbean 3, which exceeded $450 million, for a non-sequel film, this was already a tremendous achievement.
In addition, Transformers sparked a rather peculiar event in China.
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