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Transformers makes $47m in second weekend

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 6:29a.m.

The new Transformers sequel added $US93 million this weekend overseas

By David Germain

Transformers: Dark of the Moon now rules this year's box office as the blockbuster sequel became 2011's top hit with $US261 million in US box offices according to studio estimates.

Paramount Pictures' sci-fi smash starring Shia LaBeouf remained No. 1 in its second weekend with $US47 million and shot past The Hangover Part II to first-place on the domestic chart.

Debuting in second place with $US28.1 million domestically was the Warner Bros. comedy Horrible Bosses, featuring Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as bumblers plotting against their nasty supervisors.

Opening at No. 3 with $US21 million was Sony Pictures' family tale Zookeeper, with Kevin James as an animal tender who gets romantic advice from the talking critters in his care.

Domestic business dipped overall, with revenues totaling $US158 million, down 18 percent from the same weekend last year, when Despicable Me led with a $US56.4 million debut, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

Despite predictions of a monster summer that would easily surpass last year's anemic one, revenues since the first weekend in May have slipped slightly behind those of summer 2010, according to Hollywood.com. With tickets costing more this year than last, that means admissions are down even further compared to summer 2010, when domestic attendance was among the lowest in the past decade.

The third Transformers sequel is climbing fast, but other familiar titles such as Cars 2, X-Men: First Class, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Kung Fu Panda 2 are not living up to the domestic earnings of their predecessors. Even The Hangover Part II, which had a huge opening weekend, is coming in below the original one domestically.

"This is when we're supposed to be pulling well ahead of one of the lowest-attended summers of the last 10 years, which was last summer, and we're not doing that," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "Given all their entertainment options now, it really takes a lot for people to see a trailer and say, `Oh, we've got to go out and see that.'"

A familiar title that fans will be rushing out to see arrives this coming week with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the finale of one of Hollywood's biggest franchises.

Warner Bros. general sales manager Jeff Goldstein said the studio expects the eighth Harry Potter film to be the top-grossing entry in the series.

Though summer revenues are lagging, "'Potter' will change all of that next week," Goldstein said. "Going into this weekend, the industry was off year over year, but I think now we're going to close that gap."

For the year, domestic revenues are at $US5.5 billion, down 8.6 percent from 2010's, while attendance is off 10 percent, according to Hollywood.com.

Yet international business has been Hollywood's salvation, with overseas fans turning out in huge numbers.

Disney's latest Pirates of the Caribbean adventure remains the year's top-grossing hit worldwide at $US1.02 billion. Overseas markets accounted for $US785 million, just over three-fourths of that total, highlighting how critical international business has become for Hollywood, which once depended largely on domestic ticket sales.

The new Transformers sequel added $US93 million this weekend overseas, bringing its international total to $US384 million and global haul to $US645 million, No. 2 for the year behind Pirates.

"From the distributor standpoint, people are looking at these movies as world events much more than just domestic events," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony, whose Zookeeper padded its domestic take with a $US7.5 million launch in 19 overseas markets.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included.