Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots in Transformers. - Contributed LOS ANGELES (Reuters):
Sci-fi action film Transformers smashed another box-office record by grossing US$29.1 million on its second full day of release, the most ever for a July 4 holiday, according to figures released on Thursday.
Transformers, based on the shape-shifting characters of the popular toy line and cartoon television series, broke the previous Independence Day record heldby Spider-Man 2, which grossed nearly US$22 million on July 4, 2004, the box office tracking service Media By Numbers reported.
The film's second-day tally across the United States and Canada also marked the biggest-ever Wednesday for a non-sequel movie, exceeding the US$26.6 million in ticket sales generated by The Passion of the Christ on Wednesday, February 25, 2004.
The movie pulled in US$8.8 million from advance screenings on Monday night, then grossed US$27.9 million its first full day to amass the highest Tuesday haul of all-time.
Beat previous benchmarks
That sum beat the previous Tuesday benchmark of US$15.7 million, set last year by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, but fell far short of the US$59.8 million single-day record set by Spider-Man 3 two months ago, on a Friday.
Directed by Michael Bay, who is known for big-budget spectacles such as Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, Transformers is based on the Hasbro Inc. toys that turn into alien robots.
In the film, relative unknowns Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox star as youngsters befriended by Autobots, the good aliens who are being battled by evil Decepticons. The giant robot characters are creations of computer-generated graphics that have won rave reviews from critics for their realism.
US$150 million to make
Released by Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, the film cost US$150 million to make, considered inexpensive for a big-studio action movie heavy on special effects.
Heading into its first weekend with an estimated total of US$65.7 million in U.S.-Canadian ticket sales, the film appears on track to dominate domestic theatres.
The only other mid-week wide release was License To Wed. Data for the critically maligned Robin Williams comedy will be issued on Sunday, according to the film's distributor, Warner Bros. The studio is a unit of Time Warner Inc.
Transformers is expected to face its biggest competition from last weekend's boxoffice champion, Walt Disney Co.'s animated Ratatouille, and second-ranked Bruce Willis action sequel Live Free or Die Hard, from News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox.
