CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box-Office: Transformers: Dark of the Moon Reigns Supreme!

Seth Paul

Opening a film on a Wednesday, during a holiday weekend, can really give you a leg up…Transformers: Dark of the Moon did a fine job bringing in ticket sales, even if its critical reception left a lot to be desired. During the 4-day weekend, it made $116.4 million (and $181.1 million including the Wednesday and Thursday receipts). Not only is it the highest-earning film opening on Independence Day weekend ever, its three-day totals surpass even Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for the top opening weekend of 2011. Cars 2 fell to second with a much more modest (in comparison) $32 million, the Disney/Pixar film is still doing well with a two week haul of $123 million, but not garnering the praise other Pixar films have earned. Bad Teacher rounds out the top three, the also critically-panned film making $17.6 million and performing admirably at its two-week, $63 million take.

Debuting in the fourth spot, the Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts dramatic comedy Larry Crowne couldn’t compare to its blockbuster counterparts, only making $15.7 million (though like its blockbuster counterparts is not getting the most pleasant of reviews). Monte Carlo didn’t exactly shine like its namesake city, either, coming in sixth with $8.6 million. Sandwiched between is one of only three films on the list getting high marks, Super 8; it managed to pick up $9.5 million, and in four weeks has brought in $110 million, more than enough to label it a success.

With X-Men: First Class and Thor no longer contenders, Green Lantern is the only superhero film left on the Top 10, and its solo status is dropping quickly; with $8 million it managed to break the $100 million barrier, but at a budget of $200 million, it doesn’t seem likely to dethrone Batman as the Warner Bros. top superhero franchise anytime soon. The bottom three consist of one average earner…Mr. Popper’s Penguins ($6.9 million), which may or may not make its money back before it leaves the list…and two critical and box office successes. Bridesmaids still continues to surprise ($4.4 million), with eight weeks on the Top 10 and the best domestic profit margin of the list ($153.7 million on a $32.5 million budget), and Midnight in Paris ($4.3 million), while not quite the runaway success of its neighbor, has found a relatively receptive audience both here and overseas, with a domestic total of $34.5 million and $62.1 million worldwide.

Weekend Box-Office (July 1 – July 4)

  1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon…$116.6 million
  2. Cars 2…$32 million
  3. Bad Teacher…$17.6 million
  4. Larry Crowne…$15.7 million
  5. Super 8…$9.5 million
  6. Monte Carlo…$8.6 million
  7. Green Lantern…$8 million
  8. Mr. Popper’s Penguins…$6.9 million
  9. Bridesmaids…$4.4 million
  10. Midnight in Paris…$4.3 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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