‘Transformers’ Topples ‘Spider-Verse’ With $60 Million Debut After Heated Box Office Battle

Spider-Man put up a good fight, but the Autobots came out on top.

After an unusually close box office battle, Paramounts Transformers: Rise of the Beasts pulled ahead of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, debuting in first place to $60.5 million from 3,678 theaters. Sonys animated Spider-Verse sequel still managed a mighty second weekend, landing in second place with $55.4 million from 4,332 theaters.

Thanks to the better-than-expected turnouts for those films, box office returns from the first few weeks of summer (May 1 to June 11) are up 5% from 2022, according to Comscore. Analysts hope that popcorn season is able to stay strong as blockbuster-hopefuls like The Flash and Pixars Elemental join the fray in the coming days.

Initial ticket sales for Rise of the Beasts, which is the seventh installment in the live-action Transformers franchise, were notably better than the prior two entries, 2018s Bumblebee ($21.6 million) and 2017s The Last Knight ($44.68 million). Its an encouraging sign that Paramounts 16-year-old action series isnt yet running on fumes. Thats been a concern because the more recent chapters produced diminishing returns after softer starts. Reviews for Rise of the Beasts were mixed, but audiences embraced the film with an A- CinemaScore.

The jump above the previous films opening is excellent, says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. Episodes six and seven are where action series either find new creative energy and extend their run (Mission: Impossible, Fast Furious, Planet of the Apes) or start winding down (Terminator, Predator). Only James Bond lives forever.

But the tentpole, directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, cost $200 million. Itll need to resonate at the international box office to justify that hefty price tag. Prior Transformers films have earned as much as 70% of overall box office returns outside of the U.S. and Canada. Overseas, Rise of the Beasts ignited to $110 million from 68 markets, boosting its global total to $170.5 million.

Even in second place, theres still plenty to celebrate for Spider-Verse, which is already a huge theatrical winner with $226 million domestically and $390 million globally after 10 days in theaters. Over the weekend, the superhero follow-up surpassed the entire domestic and global tallies of its predecessor, 2018s Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse, which ended its box office run with $190 million in North America and $384 million worldwide. It now stands as Sonys highest-grossing animated release in history.

Elsewhere at the box office, three holdovers from Disney rounded out the top of North American charts. In third place, The Little Mermaid added $22.8 million from 4,320 theaters, declining 46% from the weekend prior. After three weeks of release, the live-action remake is swimming along with $228 million at the domestic box office. But the big-budget film has been struggling at the international box office, where ticket sales have been floundering with $185 million. (Yes, thats considered floundering for a movie that cost $250 million.) At one point, there was hope The Little Mermaid would near the $1 billion mark; after a disappointing turnout overseas, itll be lucky to hit $500 million.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 took the No. 4 spot with $7 million from 3,175 venues in its sixth weekend on the big screen. So far, the comic book adventure has grossed $335 million in North America and $805 million worldwide, which is above the original 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy ($333 million domestically, $773 million worldwide) but below the 2017 sequel ($389 million domestically, $863 million worldwide).

In fifth place, The Boogeyman added $6.9 million from 3,205 theaters, marking a 46% decline from its debut. The movie, adapted from Stephen Kings short story of the same name, has generated $24.7 million domestically and $39.6 million globally to date.