The ‘Transformers’ franchise still has a lot left in the tank.

Image via Universal
 

After many years of waiting Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has finally hit theaters. The seventh installment is off to a hot start at the box office. That includes IMAX which made our favorite robots in disguise $16 million in its opening weekend.

The premium format made Rise of the Beasts $6.4 million across 399 screens in North America and $9.6 million on international IMAX screens. The latter makes the new Transformers film the fourth-highest IMAX international opening for Paramount ever. If that wasn’t enough $5.9 million of that global number was made in China. That’s 15% of the overall total. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Transformers has always dominated the Chinese market whenever a new film is released. They’re going to be a big factor in Rise of the Beasts’ global success, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the latest installment continues to perform in the market in the weeks to come. The film has already made $40 million in China which is a big chunk of its global weekend total of $170 million. Rise of the Beasts IMAX total up to this point is $17.2 million.
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Why is Rise of the Beasts Exceeding Expectations?
Despite some mixed reviews, Rise of the Beasts continues the fun nostalgic coat of paint Bumblebee gave the franchise in 2018. Gone is Michael Bay’s sun burnt imagery, heavily cut together action, and questionably unethical characters. This is in favor of a lighthearted epic that makes you feel like you’re playing with your Transformers toys again. The Battles are amazingly shot, the CGI as usual is nothing short of brilliant, and the performances from both the Transformers and human characters go a long way to make this entry an enjoyable time at the movies. Hearing Peter Cullen’s flawless Optimus Prime never gets old and new additions to the franchise like Pete Davidson’s Mirage give the 16-year-old live-action franchise a fresh bit of Energon. While this franchise will most likely never reach the heights in terms of box office that the Bay films did, Rise of the Beasts doesn’t have to make close to a billion dollars for the film to be deemed a success. It has a real chance to be a box office hit, and it looks like it’s going to surpass Bumblebee’s lifetime gross sooner rather than later. Rise of the Beasts has already tripled Bumblebee’s opening weekend of $21.6 million.

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Autobots, Roll Out to Theaters!
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is now battling it out with Unicron in a theater near you. Before seeing the film in IMAX, you can view Collider’s interview with stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback down below.