Less than two months ago, director Michael Bay sent an e-mail to Paramount complaining that the studio was not doing enough to promote “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” the sequel to his 2007 smash “Transformers.”
Now Bay owns the second biggest five-day opening in movie history with projections estimating “Revenge of the Fallen” will gross $34.6 million today to bring its five-day total to $200.1 million on 4,234 screens, according to Paul Dergarabedian's Hollywood.com estimates.
Last summer’s "The Dark Knight” still owns the largest take of a film over its first five days of its release, grossing $203.8 million from its Friday debut through the following Tuesday.
However, “Revenge of the Fallen” has recorded the biggest weekend total for a movie opening on a Wednesday. It bests 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” the previous record holder, by nearly $50 million.
“Revenge of the Fallen” and “Dark Knight” are the only two movies to ever post $200 million grosses over their first five days.
Weekend projections for Bay’s newest release already spiked to record levels as the film earned $60.6 million on its opening day, a new high for a Wednesday.
Despite mostly negative reviews, “Revenge of the Fallen” maintained its momentum, netting $28.6 million on Thursday before its estimated $112 million haul over the weekend.
The first “Transformers” grossed $319.2 million domestically and $708.3 million worldwide, but after this past weekend, the second installment is expected to top both numbers. Not only has the film already earned nearly two-thirds of its predecessor’s domestic total, but it has taken in $387 million worldwide -- one of the best global debuts of all time.
“Revenge of the Fallen” also earned Imax a five-day record as the film grossed $14.4 million on 169 screens. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” held the previous high with $7.3 million.
“The Proposal,” last weekend’s top performer, took second with $18.5 million. Dropping 45 percent from the week before, it has now grossed $60.1 million overall.
The weekend’s other notable entry, Warner Bros.’ “My Sister’s Keeper” was surpassed by holdovers “The Hangover” and “Up”; “Keeper” ended up fifth with $12 million.
“Up,” which debuted the weekend before “Hangover,” has finished directly behind the Todd Phillips-helmed film each subsequent weekend since it opened. “Hangover” took in $17.2 million, bringing its cumulative box office to $183.2 million. “Up,” which temporarily holds the year’s biggest box office total with $250.2 million, took in $13.1 million.
Both films have had remarkable staying power, as each has yet to see a 50 percent decrease between weekends.
The top 10 rounded out with Sony’s “Year One” and “The Taking of Pelham 123,” Paramount’s “Star Trek,” Fox’s “Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian,” and Focus Features “Away We Go.”
“Away We Go,” directed by Sam Mendes, saw a 93 percent increase over last weekend’s haul, taking in $1.7 million on 495 screens.
