Proving they’ve got a similar drawing power to, er, Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’ Movie over here, Michael Bay’s robots in disguise once again dominated the US box office as Transformers: Age Of Extinction romped home to a competition-free weekend and a $100 million opening. That makes Optimus and co. the highest grossing openers in 2014 and, while critics have almost unanimously slaughtered the film, the big launch might actually help 2014’s box office prospects perk up in comparison to last year.
Extinction’s opening is not actually a record – it has to squeeze in beneath 2009’s Revenge Of The Fallen on the Transformers opening list, which means a set of giant, robotic testicles is… No, we won’t go there. The new arrival meant little change for the rest of the chart, with 22 Jump Street holding strong in second place and only dropping 43.9% from last weekend, earning $15.4 million in the process. How To Train Your Dragon 2 also dug its claws in, staying third for $13.1 million.
The main mover in the top five this week was Think Like A Man Too, which dropped heavily after its successful launch at the top last week, pointing to its main audience showing up early. It took in $10.4 million in fourth. Maleficent, meanwhile – which has just crossed the $200 million mark at the US box office and boasts $585 million worldwide – maintained its position at fifth.
Jersey Boys, which doesn’t appear to be showing great staying power, dropped from fourth to sixth place, adding $7.6 million for a $27.3 million total to date. Edge Of Tomorrow fell one place to seventh, earning $5.2 million and seems unlikely to hit $100 million domestically, though It has crossed $318.6 million worldwide. The Fault In Our Stars went down to eighth, making $4.8 million, while X-Men: Days Of Future Pas****t was ninth with $3.3 million and $223.3 million total in the States. The mutant movie has, tellingly, now pushed past $700 million globally, which means by the terms of a bet between director Bryan Singer and writer/producer Simon Kinberg, the latter has to get a tattoo…
Talking of tattoos, Jon Favreau’s inked character Carl Casper will be happy to hear that Chef has spent another week in the top 10, falling just one place to 10th with $1.6 million this weekend and $19.4 as its US total so far.
To see giant robot dinosaurs destroy everything in their path in the full chart listings, head to Box Office Mojo. If you need pain pills after that, consult your doctor. If real alien robots are the cause, consult The Doctor.