As expected: 'Transformers 3' reaches $1 billion

Ever since the stunning opening of Michael Bay's 3D spectacle "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," it was only a matter of time until the third film the series hit $1 billion. As Paramount Pictures just annouced, "Dark of the Moon" reached the mark this week.

Domestically, the movie has pulled in $338 million. Internationally, it has grossed $663 million. It's also important to point out that "Dark of the Moon" is the first billion dollar grossing movie in the history of Paramount Pictures.

“We are grateful for the extraordinary work of  Michael Bay and his film-making team, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and everyone at Paramount around the globe...," said Brad Grey, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures.

The prices of 3D tickets obviously helped "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" to reach $1 billion that fast, but the solid performance proves fans were indeed ready to give Bay another shot, especially after the negative response generated by "Revenge of the Fallen."

Box Office: 'Transformers 3' reaches $181M!

It sure was a massive holiday weekend at the North American box office, with Michael Bay's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" exploding on the big screen to reach an estimated total domestic gross of $181.1 million after only six days in release.

As it happens, the third film in the series helped  turn this Fourth of July holiday weekend at the movies into the biggest yet. "Dark of the Moon" scored $32.8 million Friday, $34.4 million Saturday, $30.2 million Sunday, and $18.9 million Monday.

Not bad for the 3D spectacle that received slightly better reviews than its predecessor "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which actually made more moola than "Moon" during its first six days ($214.9 million). Still, for Paramount, this sure is a big win.

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Editorial: The crazy films of Michael Bay

Yes, Michael Bay occasionally likes to brag about how spectacular his films are. Who could blame him? After all, the man does occasionally pull off a pretty entertaining movie, right? That said, Bay is not the kind of guy you will see in the race for a best director Oscar anytime soon, and truth be told, it seems like he's not even after that kind of recognition. He has settled into his own genre, and he seems to have a blast.

Bay's films always make tons of money at the box office, and yet, he doesn't have the best reputation in town. In fact, many folks out there - cinemagoers and critics alike - tend to bad-mouth the director and his work whenever they can. Why? Because it's so easy. Yes, some of Bay's films truly suck (for the lack of a better work), but let's not forget he's also responsible for a solid dose of wildly intriguing cinema.

With "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" in theaters right now, I thought it would be good to look back at Bay's films and explain my answer to the question: Is he really that bad? To tell you right away, my answer to that one is no. He's a dab hand at what he does, and while he's got some lows on his record, he also generated a few movies that, heck, I absolutely love. Let's take a closer look.

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Movie Review: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Seen on: June 29, 2011

The players: Director: Michael Bay, Writer: Ehren Kruger, Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey Tyrese Gibson

Fact of interest: None.

The plot: The Decepticons attempt to pull the damaged planet of Cybertron into Earth's atmosphere. Sam and the Autobots must stop them.

Our thoughts: Here’s the good news: Michael Bay’s latest sci-fi spectacle “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is a tad better than its utterly forgettable predecessor “Revenge of the Fallen.” That said, the not-so-good news is that the latest installment in the popular (and ridiculously profitable) big-screen franchise isn’t exactly a memorable experience either.

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'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' bags $37M

Paramount's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" jumped to the top of the North American box office Wednesday, earning a solid $37.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates. The film scored the biggest opening day so far this year.

Michael Bay's crazy 3D sequel, however, failed to beat the stellar performance of its predecessor, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." That sequel took home a strong $62 million. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" is now playing at 4,011 locations.

Needless to say, the third film in the franchise will make a lot of moola this weekend, and it will probably rank somewhere between the first "Transformers" and "Revenge of the Fallen." Wednesday midnight showings, by the way, only brought in $8 million.

LaBeouf says new 'Tranformers' is 'Greatest 3D film ever made'

With a little over a week away from the release of the third installment of the "Transformers" series, star Shia LaBeouf seems to be churning out grandiose statements in hopes to pack theaters. With the recent trend of theatergoers opting for a 2D rather than a 3D experience, LaBeouf must feel the need to dabble in hyperbole in order to get people excited for the film. 

According to Moveline, not only did he recently state that this newest installment was the "Greatest 3D film ever made", he went on to say, “The last hour of this movie is the greatest action sequence of Mike’s career, which would put it on the same level as the greatest action ever made,” LaBeouf said.

“You don’t breathe for the last hour. There’s just no letup, but it’s also not completely overwhelming and disconnected, as the second movie was. You didn’t know what was fighting what or where you were geography-wise.

There was no way to be able to tell a story, whereas this is very ‘Black Hawk Down’ action. The geography is very clear. There’s only four or five dudes you need to be following. The enemy is very clear. The second movie was so … complicated. The best movies are simple.”

I wonder if he will have to backpeddle a little bit when the first batch of negative reviews start coming in...

New stills from 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

Although it may be hard for some of you to admit it, we know that there are fans of Michael Bay's "Transformers" series out there. For those brave fans, Paramount has released some photos from the new film that should get you even more excited for the release on June 29.  

The Autobots Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide and Sideswipe led by Optimus Prime, are back in action, taking on the evil Decepticons, who are determined to avenge their defeat in 2009's "Transformers Revenge of the Fallen."

In "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," the Autobots and Decepticons become involved in a perilous space race between the U.S. and Russia, and once again human Sam Witwicky has to come to the aid of his robot friends.

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LaBeouf and Bay done with 'Transformers'?

As director Michael Bay and star Shia LaBeouf are gearing up for the release of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," which lands June 29, 2011, there is reason to believe that their involvement with the popular franchise may soon come to an end. 

Talking to MTV, LaBeouf stated that after the release of this film, he is done with the "Transformers" franchise. Not only he will be finished, but LaBeouf also said he believes Bay might ditch the series as well. LaBeouf went on to declare, “It still is a hot property, I think, especially coming out of the third one. So I imagine they'll reboot it at some point with someone else.”

The Transformers series in the hands of someone other than Michael Bay? That could be interesting. Let's say all this is true and the series will be continued - who would you want to come onboard to direct? Any favorites?

Boring new 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' clip

Here is a brand-new clip from Michael Bay's upcoming sequel "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," but as you can see after the jump, it looks like they're going to save all the action for the movie. This clip is pretty uneventful, unless you have a thing for Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or Patrick Dempsey, of course.

Anyway, Dempsey plays a dude named Dylan, and in this footage, he proves he's quite the show-off. Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky, and Huntington-Whiteley pretty much replaces Megan Fox. Also part of the cast are Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

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Movie Review: “I Am Number Four”

Seen on: February 18, 2011

The players: Director: D.J. Caruso, Writers: Miles Millar, Alfred Gough, Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron

Facts of interest: Produced by Michael Bay.

The plot: An alien named No. 4 is hiding from a group of ruthless monsters trying to eliminiate him and eventually take over Earth.

Our thoughts: Although it boasts quite an interesting concept, D.J. Caruso’s new sci-fi thriller “I Am Number Four” takes way too long to lift off and impress viewers with a couple of fast-paced action scenes and an explosion of solid special effects. In the end, the film feels more like a mix of “Twilight” and “Smallville,” and no, that’s definitely not a good sign. Did I also mention it was produced by Michael Bay?

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