Box Office: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Makes $8.8 Million in Previews

recent poor box office performance qualifies as a party.The Fox News late-night show devoted Tuesday’s opener to trashing recent Marvel, Walt Disney Studios and Pixar films that underperformed in movie theaters, suggesting their progressive narratives and characters were hurting business. To make his point, host Greg Gutfeld referenced a Breitbart article titled “Box Office Analyst Estimates Disney Lost $890 Million on Last Eight Theatrical Releases,” which is based solely on a post by “prominent YouTuber” Valliant Renegade.“It’s gotten so bad, Cruella DeVille is selling dogs at Chipotle.

As the summer season shines onto the box office, movie grosses don’t match what they used to be in seasons past.

Sony’s mission to return comedy to the big screen with the R-rated Jennifer Lawrence movie No Hard Feelings began Thursday, when the film grossed $2.15 million from showtimes that began at 4 p.m. at 2,745 locations. The pic hopes to do around $12M this weekend in what will be second session where Warner Bros’ misfire The Flash hopes not take a -70% tumble. At the low end that’s $16.5M. A good hold will be off 55% to north of $24M.

Jordan Moreau Jennifer Lawrence’s new R-rated comedy, “No Hard Feelings,” hits theaters this weekend and made $2.15 million in previews at the box office. The raunchy comedy from Sony is predicted to open with a soft $12 million in its opening weekend, which may not bode well considering its $45 million budget. It’s been a tough time for R-rated comedies at the box office lately, with the once profitable genre nearly going extinct. Besides this year’s “Cocaine Bear,” which made $87 million worldwide, the last few comedies, like Sony and Bert Kreischer’s “The Machine,” Billy Eichner’s “Bros,” Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro’s “About My Father” and Jo Koy’s “Easter Sunday,” haven’t not found much box office success.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter After struggling at the domestic box office, this weekend’s two major releases — the Warner Bros. superhero adaptation “The Flash” and Disney’s Pixar adventure “Elemental” — failed to catch fire with international audiences. “The Flash” pulled in $75 million in its international box office debut, which doesn’t sound all that bad… except when considering the movie is available in 78 overseas markets. That means it failed to hit $1 million in the vast majority of the territories in play. China led the way with a lackluster $13.8 million, followed by Mexico with $9.4 million, the United Kingdom with $5.3 million, Korea with $3.7 million and Brazil with $3.5 million.

Ben Croll The walls of Barcelona’s international convention center might soon rattle once the 4,000 European exhibitors, suppliers and service providers in town for the CineEurope trade show breathe out a collective sigh of relief. At the root of such succor are Europe’s more than encouraging box-office admissions, which saw a marked uptick in late 2022 and have continued to rise into the new year. “I think this edition will be very much about celebrating because 2022 was a much better year than 2021,” says Laura Houlgatte, CEO of the Intl. Union of Cinemas (UNIC), which tends to the needs of cinema trade associations and exhibitors across the old continent. “[What’s more] the numbers for the first quarter of 2023 have left everyone in a very good mood.”

Rotten Tomatoes.Both of those audience metrics are below what was received for “Black Adam,” a DC film that opened to $67 million domestic and $140 million worldwide last fall and which “The Flash” had long been expected to top. “Black Adam” grossed just $393 million against a $200 million budget before marketing costs, and it is now likely that “Flash” will fall below that total from a similar if not higher budget.

The Post noted in a review that called the flick “solidly entertaining.”The film is tracking to open in the $70 million range over the long Father’s Day and Juneteenth weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Next in line was Pixar’s new animated adventure film “Elemental,” which grossed $11.8 million in its opening night on Friday. It could end up being Pixar’s lowest debut, wrote the blog Slashfilm.The family flick is set in a New York-esque metropolis inhabited by anthropomorphic wind, water, fire and Earth citizens, and is sweet but underwhelming, said The Post.“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” took third in the box office, raking in $8.1 million.

Jordan Moreau “The Flash” is racing ahead at the box office, picking up $9.7 million in previews at the box office. The Warner Bros. film, starring Ezra Miller as the DC Comics speedster and helmed by “It” director Andy Muschietti, has endured a long and rocky road to theaters, but it’s finally opening this weekend. “The Flash” is projected to earn around $70 million in its first weekend, with some predictions as high as $85 million and others as low as $68 million. That expected opening is in line with previous DC Studios projects like last year’s “Black Adam” and 2018’s “Aquaman,” which both debuted to $67 million — but Warner Bros. is surely hoping that “The Flash” takes more after his “Justice League” companion than Dwayne Johnson’s antihero. “Black Adam” stalled out with $168 million domestically and less than $400 million globally, while Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman” surfed to $335 million in North America and $1.14 billion worldwide. Without question, “The Flash” will perform better than March’s “Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” which opened with $30 million and ended its domestic run with just $57 million. In terms of Thursday previews, “Black Adam” collected $7.6 million, “Aquaman” had $9 million and “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” made $3.4 million.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It was positioned as the first big blockbuster battle of summer. But this weekend’s showdown between “The Flash” and Pixar’s “Elemental” isn’t shaping up to be one for box office record books. Both of the mega-budgeted tentpoles are tracking for lackluster starts, with “The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller as the title DC superhero, targeting $70 million and “Elemental,” an animated adventure about opposites who attract, aiming to collect just $35 million. Insiders and analysts are split on the final weekend number for “The Flash,” with some expecting an even softer $68 million and others projecting as much as $85 million. “The Flash” is landing on the big screen without a traditional promotional push from Miller, who has been a controversial figure in the lead-up to the film’s release. The actor, who was arrested several times in the past few years, released a statement in August to apologize for their behavior and say they were in treatment for “complex mental health issues.” Miller attended the premiere of “The Flash” on Monday, marking their first public appearance in two years, but stopped short of engaging with the press.

Naman Ramachandran Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” led the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive weekend with £4 million ($5.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The web-slinging animation now has a total of £16.2 million. Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts” debuted in second place with a healthy £2.9 million. In its third weekend, in second position, Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” collected £2.1 million for a total of £19.9 million. In fourth place, another Disney title, “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3” earned £511,837 in its sixth weekend for a total of £35.5 million. Rounding off the top five in its fourth weekend was Universal’s “Fast X” with £475,640 and a total of £14.2 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” enjoyed a $38.9 million (RMB276 million) opening weekend in mainland China. The score was comfortably the biggest by any film between Friday and Sunday and the second biggest opening by a Hollywood film this year in the territory. Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway suggests that the film accounted for some 63% of China’s nationwide gross box office over the weekend. Giant screen systems provider, Imax reported that the film earned $5.9 million of the total from its screen network in China, or some 15% of the China total.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” stormed into theatres worldwide this weekend, amassing a staggering $110 million at the international box office. 

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” kicked off at the international box office with $110 million from 68 markets, including a decent $40 million start in China. The seventh installment in Paramount’s action franchise also pulled in $60 million in its North American debut, bringing its worldwide tally to a solid $170 million. Overseas audiences will be key to the theatrical success of “Transformers,” which cost $200 million. Prior entries in the 16-year-old series have earned as much as 70% of overall box office returns outside of the U.S. and Canada. At the international box office, ticket sales for “Rise of the Beasts” are pacing 32% below “Bumblebee,” which is the most recent entry in the series. The newest chapter has managed to set franchise records in eight smaller markets, including Indonesia, Argentina and Peru. The Autobots will take the box office milestones where they can get them.

Rotten Tomatoes. “Rise of the Beasts” will need that audience buzz as it faces competition for the 18-34 demographic — which made up 54% of its opening day audience — from Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” next weekend.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The flick, which The Post called “another annoying robo-flop,” is expected to see an over $100 million international debut, according to Deadline.It dethroned “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” which brought in $16.6 million, after holding the No. 1 spot on its opener last weekend.Eagle-eared fans reported sound problems with the computer-animated movie, and Sony promptly sent a new version to theaters, according to Variety.“The Little Mermaid” swam down a notch to third place, raking in just over $6.8 million in sales.

Paramount/Skydance/Hasbro’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is on the prowl overseas with $43.3M through Friday in 68 markets. This portends a $100M+ international box office debut, in line with projections. The domestic three-day is looking at $60M.

J. Kim Murphy The summer season has its first genuine battle for top of the heap, as “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” looks to fend off last week’s top release “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” “Rise of the Beasts” put its foot on the gas with $25 million on its opening day, a figure that includes $8.8 million in Thursday previews. The film is projected to land near a $60 million opening through the three-day frame, which would land at the higher end of estimates heading into the weekend. Once a box office juggernaut, Paramount has attempted to reengineer the “Transformers” franchise for future longevity. The first three entries, directed by Michael Bay, each crossed $300 million in North American grosses, while threequel “Dark of the Moon” and its follow-up “Age of Extinction” both surpassed $1 billion worldwide. But Bay’s final production, 2017’s “Transformers: The Last Knight,” saw diminished returns, finishing with $130 million stateside and $605 million worldwide — almost half of the $1.1 billion in ticket sales earned by “Age of Extinction.” Paramount released the spinoff “Bumblebee” in 2018, produced on a comparatively smaller budget and met with $467 million worldwide.

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: This contains major spoilers about the ending of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” now playing in theaters. Is this the beginning of the Hasbro Cinematic Universe? After rumors of a crossover between the “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe” franchises circulated online in recent months, it seems like the ultimate ’80s action-toy mash-up is officially happening. The ending of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” has a direct callout to the Joes, and director Steven Caple Jr. and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke to Variety at the film’s premiere about what to expect next from the series.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” began its domestic box office sprint on Thursday with $8.8 million in preview screening grosses. That is on par with (sans inflation) the $8.8 million earned via Tuesday previews for “Transformers: The Last Knight” in June of 2017 and the $8.75 million Thursday preview gross of “Transformers: Age of Extinction” in 2014.