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June 28, 2009

`Transformers' takes $112M weekend

The Associated Press Associated Press

`Transformers' takes to sky with $112M weekend

LOS ANGELES – Alien robots have transformed into box-office superstars with $200 million in domestic ticket sales in just five days.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" took in $112 million in the sequel's first weekend and $201.2 million since opening Wednesday, according to Sunday estimates from Paramount, which is distributing the DreamWorks movie.

It was well on the way to becoming the year's top-grossing movie.

That was a few million dollars higher than other studios were expecting for the movie, and the figures could change a bit when final numbers are released Monday.

Still, it was a colossal start for the "Transformers" sequel, whose opening five days amounted to nearly two-thirds of the $319 million domestic total the franchise's first movie did over its entire run in 2007.

Now playing in almost every other country except India, the movie added $185.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $387 million. That's well over half the $708 million global total for the first "Transformers."

That first movie began with a $70.5 million weekend. Based on how well the sequel has done, "Revenge of the Fallen" could join the handful of movies that have topped the $400 million mark domestically.

"I'd say given the momentum it has, it's got a real shot," said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount.

For the first five days, the "Transformers" sequel was second only to last summer's "The Dark Knight" with $203.8 million.

This was the biggest opening weekend of this year, surpassing the $85.1 million debut of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in early May.

The sequel began with $60.6 million on its opening day Wednesday. That also was second only to "The Dark Knight," which had the biggest box-office day ever with $67.2 million on opening day.

"Transformers" overcame harsh reviews from critics, who called it a visual-effects extravaganza without much story or human heart. Director Michael Bay has a history of bad reviews and big box office with "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor."

"Michael Bay knows how to build the perfect summer box-office beast," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "He squarely aimed right at the demographic, right at what summer movie-goers want, and he put it on the screen. And audiences can't seem to get enough of it."

The sequel broadened the franchise's fan base. Females accounted for just 40 percent of the audience for the first "Transformers" but 46 percent for the sequel, Moore said.

Much of that was due to the on-screen romance for the characters played by Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who were relative unknowns when the first movie came out.

With a $13 million weekend, Disney and Pixar Animation's "Up" became the year's top-grossing film domestically at $250.2 million. It surpassed Paramount's "Star Trek," which did $3.6 million over the weekend to hit a $246.2 million total.

The reign of "Up" at the top of the year's box-office chart will be short-lived, though. The "Transformers" sequel should shoot past it in a matter of days.

The Warner Bros. melodrama "My Sister's Keeper," with Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin, had a so-so debut, coming in at No. 5 with $12 million. Breslin plays a daughter conceived as a donor for her older sister, who has leukemia.

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