'Transformers' Edges Out 'Ice Age'

The total for the Iraq war-themed film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, stands at $365,000. Summit plans to expand its runs to 17 additional markets on July 10.

SATURDAY A.M. UPDATE: 

In its 10th day of release, the strong, robotic legs of Paramount’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” are still out in front of critics and the domestic box office, with the Michael Bay film adding another $18 million to its tally Friday, according to studio estimates.

Running in 4,234 North American locations, the “Transformers” sequel has now hit $269 million domestically, and $500 million worldwide.

Fox’s “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” remained just behind the robot movie, tallying $17 million Friday to bring its domestic total to $42 million after three days of release.

The animated film, Fox’s first 3D release, is on pace to surpass the $68 million weekend premiere benchmark established in 2006 by “Ice Age’s” part-two installment, which was released on a March Friday but took only a three-day weekend to make its money.

This time around, suspecting that a Fourth of July occurring on a Saturday might yield slow box-office attendance, Fox officials opted to release the film on a Wednesday to get a jump on the weekend.

Finishing third, the Michael Mann-directed “Public Enemies” drew $10.1 million, upping its cume after three days in the market to $27.3 million after three days of release.

Universal officials are comparing the film to “Collateral,” a 2004 Mann film, also released in the summer months. That movie garnered $24.7 million for its three-day weekend premiere.

The rest of Friday's top 10:

The Proposal": $5.2 million

"The Hangover": $4.5 million

"Up": $2.7 million

"My Sister's Keeper": $2.4 million

"The Taking of Pelham 123": $1 million

"Year One": $930,000

"Night At The Museum 2: $866,000

FRIDAY UPDATE:

Paramount’s “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen” regained the top spot at the box office Thursday, taking in $11.5 million.
 
With its domestic total now at an estimated $250.9 million -- and its international total exceeding $220 million as of Wednesday -- the Michael Bay robot sequel is easily on pace to exceed half a billion dollars in global receipts by the end of the five-day Fourth of July holiday weekend.
 
Finishing second Thursday was “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” which netted $11.1 at 4,032 venues, a 20 percent drop from its premiere on Wednesday.
 
After two days, Fox’s first 3D film has brought in $24.9 million domestically, putting it roughly on pace to match the $68 million opening weekend that the first sequel, “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” established in 2006 -- over a three-day weekend period.
 
Finishing third, Universal’s “Public Enemies,” directed by Michael Mann, and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, took in $6.6 million Thursday, down 19 percent from its Wednesday premiere performance.

Certainly for the third “Ice Age” installment, animated kiddie competition was light, with Disney/Pixar’s “Up” entering its fifth week and Disney’s guinea pig-themed “G-Force” not due out until July 24. 

Indie releases on Friday include IFC Films’ “I Hate Valentines Day,” which re-teams “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” duo Nia Vardalos and John Corbett, as well as imports “Girl From Monaco” starring France’s Fabrici Luchini and distributed by Magnolia, and Pablo Trapero’s “Lions Den,” released domestically by Strand.

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