LOS ANGELES: Big-budget Hollywood flick Transformers: Dark of the Moon smashed rivals and delighted movie fans around the world, ringing up $372 million at global box offices since its Wednesday debut, Paramount Pictures said on Sunday.
The movie, the third installment in the blockbuster films, appeared on its way to beating some box office records and it bolstered the prospects for the soft 3D market with 70 percent of its international ticket sales and 60 per cent of its domestic tally in that format, Paramount said.
An estimated $97.4 million in US and Canadian ticket sales for the three days Friday through Sunday eclipses the previous best three-day tally over the US Independence Day holiday, Paramount said. That record had been held by Spider-Man 2 with $88.2 million on the same weekend in 2004.
The movie, with a reported cost of $200 million, started with a soft roll-out of only $13.5 million from sneak previews and midnight screenings in domestic theaters, below 2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $16.6 million midnight mark.
Last week’s No. 1 movie, Disney/Pixar animated Cars 2 dropped to the second-place spot on box office charts with an estimated $25.1 million for the three days ending on Sunday.
Cameron Diaz comedy Bad Teacher dropped from the No. 2 spot to this week’s No. 3 with $14.1 million, and newcomer Larry Crowne, a romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts claimed the No. 4 spot with $13 million. Rounding out the top five was another new release, comedy Monte Carlo with $7.6 million. (Reuters)