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Weekend Box Office (June 24-26): 'Transformers: The Last Knight' is a paper champ...we're waiting for you Despicable Me 3

GregHarmon GregHarmon Managing Editor The North American box office witnessed the rise (and fall) of Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Last Knight for the weekend of June 24-26, 2017.

Despite finishing atop the box office with a $45 million gross ($69 mil. global), "The Last Knight" represents the lowest domestic opening of the entire series behind Transformers (2007) $70 million, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2001) $97 million, Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) $100 million, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) $108 million. Though director Michael Bay has publicly stated "The Last Knight" will be his last Transformers film - raise your hand if you've heard this before (Age of Extinction and Dark Side of the Moon) - Paramount remains committed to the series by announcing a Bumblebee spinoff starring Hailee Steinfeld and directed by Travis Knight. I'm mildly digging the idea of a live-action Travis Knight action flick.

Wonder Woman still breaking records!

While Transformers: The Last Knight received this weekend’s top honors (for one week only), the headlines are all about Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman – surpassing Phyllida Lloyd’s Mama Mia to become the highest grossing film by a female director by over $43 million. At $318 million domestic, only Buena Vista’s Beauty and the Beast ($503 mil) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. ($380 mil.) stand in the way as North America’s highest grossing films for 2017. Wonder Woman has already eclipsed Zach Snyder’s Man of Steel ($291 million domestic) and is all but certain to become DC Extended Universe’s highest grossing film in the United States trailing Suicide Squad’s $325 million and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice $330 million. Rise up, we salute you Patty Jenkins!

Rounding out the top five

Disney-Pixar's Cars 3 fell from number 1 to number 3, dropping 53% bringing in $25 million domestic, and Entertainment Studios horror-thriller 47 Meters Down held strong, moving up from number 5 ($11.5 million last week) to number 4 at $7.4 million. Universal Pictures The Mummy and Lionsgate/Summit All Eyez On Me tied for fifth at 5.8 million and will all be forgotten come next week.

Don't sleep on The Big Sick or The Beguiled

The Big Sick
The Big Sick
The Beguiled
The Beguiled

Two notables were the limited release of Amazon Studios/Lionsgate's The Big Sick and Focus Features The Beguiled. The Big Sick grossed an estimated $435,000 in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles, a per screen average of $87,000, the largest per screen average of any film opening on more than one screen this year. This bodes well for Amazon Studios following the success of Oscar winner Manchester by the Sea. Fresh off Sofia Coppola's best director win at Cannes Film Festival, Focus Features The Beguiled, delivered $240,545 from four locations for a strong $60,138 average, the film will expand to over 500 screens in North America next weekend.

Up Next

Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and Dreamworks Despicable Me 3 receive the July 4th Holiday weekend treatment and are all but certain to knock off The Mummy, All Eyez on Me, and 47 Meters Down from the top five.

Stats source: Box Office Mojo

Baby Driver
Baby Driver
Despicable Me 3
Despicable Me 3

Posted in Weekend Box Office,

GregHarmon GregHarmon Managing Editor

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