‘Transformers One’ Debuts With $39M WW; ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Rises To $330M & ‘The Wild Robot’ Starts Early Overseas – International Box Office

Refresh for latest…: Paramount/Hasbro Entertainment’s Transformers One is out of the gate with a $39M global start. From just 50 international box office markets (representing only 40% of the overseas footprint), the first animated Transformers movie in close to 40 years grossed $14M.

The Josh Cooley-directed origins story came in below projections domestically and international is off to a softer start than hoped. 

While there are still major markets to come including Brazil, Italy, Korea, China, Germany, UK and France, it’s still a bit of a head-scratcher that the offshore opening wasn’t bigger given reviews, word of mouth and how much perceived anticipation there has been for the movie. A work-in-progress screening at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival had the room on its feet in June. However, we are hearing about general softness in the marketplace — and the back-to-school period can be a tricky one. The hope here is that folks will discover the $75M production as we roll along. 

Overall, on a like-for-like basis including previews, the international result is 3% below The LEGO Batman Movie and 16% below Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse for the same markets in release.

Mexico was tops at $2.2M, but only opening at No. 4. Australia opened at No. 3 with $1.5M — there are two weeks of school holidays ahead. Japan was next at $820K with tomorrow a national holiday. Panama debuted at No. 2 with $625K from just 132 locations and Spain grossed $445K at No. 3. Among the No. 1 launches were Philippines ($430K), Ukraine ($135K) and Turkey ($120K).

In Imax, the Cybertron gang grossed $3M.

Also new this session, Universal began staggered international release on DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, with eight markets grossing $6.9M, including $4M from China. Excluding China, the performance is in line with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and above Migration, Elemental and The Bad Guys.

China was the top opener with $4M and a 9.6 on both Maoyan and TPP, the best scores ever for the studio on any of its titles in the market. 

In Australia, Wild Robot took advantage of staggered school holidays for a $2M start including $800K from previews and at No.1 in