The Energon Pub

While you'll still find some deep hated hatred for the live action Transformers films amongst the fan community, it's easy to forget how popular and bankable they were in the past. Case in point, did you know that Transformers Revenge of the Fallen had the box office record for domestic (US) 5 day opening? It's held that record for over a decade and has only been beaten now by the Super Mario Brothers film.

At least that's what you'll see in the trades. And while it is accurate, here are some details to clarify that claim. Indeed, Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF) had amassed the most money for a 5 day opening week-end, meaning a week-end where the film opens on Wednesday. The record for ROTF was $200M domestically. The Super Mario Brothers film made $204M domestically within that same amount of time, finally beating it out.

That does not account for inflation though, which anyone looking at prices in the toy aisle is reminded of every day. With inflation, ROTF would be at $271M, so far more than the Super Mario Brothers film, and that would also mean that it sold more tickets than Mario at the time.

However, neither of those films are the true opening week-end winners since Avengers Endgame holds that title at $357M in only 3 days, which is crazy when you compare it to the $200M Mario and ROTF made in 5 days.

For more information on the box office, you can check out Box Office Mojo: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3059975681/

In the record books only the final dollar amount matters, but I do think it should be marked with an asterisk or include the adjusted amount in parentheses.

And gor the record, this fan doesn't hate Revenge of the Fallen. I just rate it the lowest on my list, tied with TLK. I still remember going to the midnight premiere in June 2009, watching it in a sold out massive theater. A great movie-going experience, even if the story doesn't hold up that well.

I still remember seeing ROTF in a crowded cinema during the opening weekend, some of the cringe humour actually did get huge eruptions of laughter from the audience. While it did feel pretty lonely back then being the only person on the Internet not getting irrationally angry about the worst movie ever made, I do find some solace in the fact that ROTF isn't hated anywhere near as much now. A while ago I watched a cover of New Divide on Youtube by a band called Halocene, and I was surprised by how many comments were talking about their happy nostalgia for ROTF.

The fact the Revenge of The Fallen managed to hold on this record for this long is an achievement in it itself.

Nice to see people enjoying the Mario movie.

I remember ROTF coming out on the first day of Summer vacation. My mother took myself and my then five-year-old brother to the first showing at about 9:00 AM. We got their before the theater opened and waited outside for a little while, along with a small crowd. Someone was playing New Divide, which I recognised from the trailers. I am now able to understand the flaws the movie has, but nothing can detract from the memory of watching it for the first time and being awestruck by what it had to offer. Optimus Prime's opening narration over the new Autobot-NEST team showing off was such a perfect way to bridge the previous movie and set the stage for the sequel. I was hooked from that point until the credits rolled.

I did see the Super Mario Bros Movie last week, too. It was absolutely enjoyable and a fun watch, if rather formulaic. It did very well at streamlining the general lore of the Mario franchise into a cohesive plot, with some truly emotional moments mixed in with the typically silly tone. I think Mario fans will be (and are) very happy with it. Rise Of The Beasts may not end up being as true-to-the-source as the Mario Movie, but I hope it might stir some of the same feelings of cinematic excitement in the Transformers community.

Honestly this reeks of that post made on Stephen King's comment on MV1 so I'm guessing it's both a slow news day and a monthly anti-Bay hateboner article day. Hm.

I think many people went into RotF, expecting it to follow the pattern of most Hollywood sequels to a successful 1st outing. Which is to say, viewers expected the makers to learn what worked in the first movie, what didn't, make improvements, and produce a sequel that is even better than the first.

What we got was a sequel that mimicked the first movie, but didn't improve on it - and dished up a big helping of cringe as well. Granted - it made truckloads of cash. You can't argue with success.

My personal gripe with Movie2 was that Hasbro cleared the decks of all other shows and toy lines to make room for this movie and its associated merchandise. Which included Transformers Animated, the best show/toy line in recent history.

DeathReviews wrote: Which included Transformers Animated, the best show/toy line in recent history.

OMG you cannot be serious! That toy line was atrocious! With that stupid automorph gear gimmick inside & the parts that didn't line up right or just plain fell apart. I have Starscream & Skywarp just because I like the jet modes but they will not hold together properly. And transforming them is horrible. And I remember Blitzwing was a QC nightmare.

And how the hell do you go from the G1 animation style to the godawful Animated style & say it is one of the "BEST"??? Beast Machines & Animated are clearly the worst shows to ever hit this franchise. Animated looks like the F'in Powerpuff Girls. I can't believe people can support such an abomination. Where is your taste man???

Nemesis Reformatted wrote:

DeathReviews wrote: Which included Transformers Animated, the best show/toy line in recent history.

OMG you cannot be serious! That toy line was atrocious! With that stupid automorph gear gimmick inside & the parts that didn't line up right or just plain fell apart. I have Starscream & Skywarp just because I like the jet modes but they will not hold together properly. And transforming them is horrible. And I remember Blitzwing was a QC nightmare.

And how the hell do you go from the G1 animation style to the godawful Animated style & say it is one of the "BEST"??? Beast Machines & Animated are clearly the worst shows to ever hit this franchise. Animated looks like the F'in Powerpuff Girls. I can't believe people can support such an abomination. Where is your taste man???

Dude, take a chill pill. It's all a matter of perspective and like you said, taste. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean others can't.

I'm also 1 of those who regards Animated highly, probably in the top 5 of the franchise in art style and the toy line. Story-wise it was also up there, behind the comics (Both G1 and IDW), Beast Wars and Prime. It damn sure looked better than the mechanical vomit that was on the movie screens. I would've loved an ongoing TFA comic.