‘Transformers One’: Sleeper Box Office Hit in the Making or Franchise in Decline? | Analysis

The final box office fate of Paramount/Hasbro’s animated film “Transformers One” was never going to be written on opening weekend. But after a soft $25 million domestic start, now it’s up in the air whether this origin tale for Optimus Prime and Megatron will strike a chord with moviegoers who aren’t already fans of the ’80s franchise.

Hitting theaters a year after the solid theatrical run of Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” “Transformers One” is part of a broader effort by the studio to build its name among families and general audiences alike as a major player in the theatrical animation space.