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Tag: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

  • ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Director Steven Caple Jr. In Talks to Return for Next ‘Transformers’ Movie

    ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Director Steven Caple Jr. In Talks to Return for Next ‘Transformers’ Movie

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has finally been released in theaters with a surprisingly strong $171M. Early projects believed the film might not even make $40M domestically but it managed to even dethrone Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in its second weekend. The audience’s are also seemingly enjoying their time back with the Transformers, as it pulled in an AudienceScore A- while critics were quite mixed on the project with a RottenTomatoes score of 51% currently.

    The important thing is that Paramount and Hasbro seem quite happy with the film. In a new interview with director Steven Caple Jr. from Deadline, he seemingly revealed that he’s already in talks to tackle the next film in the franchise. He highlights that he’s also ready to tackle the cliffhanger from the project pertaining to Anthony Ramos and Michael Kelly.

    They definitely had a sequel in mind with that ending, and it seems they aren’t going to waste too much time before jumping into it. It’s unclear though if they already have a script ready before the WGA strike happened, or they might be waiting it out as well before jumping into the sequel. Caple Jr. managed to revive a long-dormant franchise and Paramount is definitely not done to ensure it grows to what it once was.

    Source: Deadline, Rotten Tomatoes

  • ‘Transformers’ & ‘Spider-Man’ to Battle for Top Spot at the Domestic Box Office

    ‘Transformers’ & ‘Spider-Man’ to Battle for Top Spot at the Domestic Box Office

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has finally been released in theaters and is surprising quite a bit. While early predictions expected the film to open around $40M, it had a stronger Friday opening and is heading to $60M opening weekend at the domestic box office. Surprisingly though, that might not be enough to dethrone the current box office reign of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Currently, it is slightly edging out the film with $60M against $55.9M but Sunday could still make all the difference.

    The film overall is showing a strong international box office and is going to open north of $160M worldwide. China remains the biggest fan of this robot-in-disguise franchise with an $11.8M Friday. The market has overall shown quite a bit of healing over the last few months. The Little Mermaid struggled quite a bit but it seems Transformers might reignite the excitement before the next major release The Flash.

    It’s a strong jump from the initial expectations. While it didn’t hit the highs of the hopeful $70M, it does give the film a bit more of a chance to make its money back. There’s hoping to build up the iconic franchise again even after Bumblebee underperformed with $21.6M and The Last Knight’s $44.6M. There’s a chance that if they keep pushing it could return to a $100M+ opening again but it’s definitely a hopeful start for the franchise, especially with a decent A- CinemaScore.

    The big question is if the latest Spider-Verse entry will surprise given it already has shown some strong legs. The summer box office is stacked and it definitely has proven that family fare and strong word-of-mouth can carry quite a few projects. Fast X is the only big release that one could say lost any momentum going into its second weekend but we still have a few big releases that will show if people put all their money in early or not.

    Source: Deadline, Deadline (WW)

  • REVIEW: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    REVIEW: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    When the first live-action Transformers film came out in 2007, no one could have imagined that the film would launch a mega-franchise. The first film, directed by Michael Bay, went on to earn an impressive $709.71 million at the worldwide box office and launched a new film franchise for Paramount. There was a total of five Transformers films that, while they performed well at the box office, seemed to take a dive in quality with each new installment. Bumblebee, a standalone film starring Hailee Steinfeld, seemed to bring back a love of the franchise, but only managed to secure $467.99 million at the worldwide box office. With Rise of the Beasts, Paramount hopes to launch a brand-new Transformers franchise. Thankfully, the film is a much-needed new direction for the franchise, one full of promise.

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes place in 1994. The film stars Anthony Ramos (Hamilton) as Noah Diaz, a former soldier who is doing his best to support his family. With a sick brother and a mother trying to make ends meet, Noah just wants to be able to provide some sort of financial stability for his family, but he can’t seem to catch a break. Until one day he stumbles upon a certain car that’ll change his life forever. Right off the bat, it’s hard not to enjoy Rise of the Beasts. Noah is a charming character who wants to do whatever he can to help his younger brother, Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez). It’s his desperation to help Kris that leads to him meeting the Autobots. What ensures after is a chaotic thrill ride that shows there’s plenty of steam left in the franchise.

    Ramos and Dominique Fishback, who plays Elena Wallace, are a hell of a duo. Both young actors are absolutely captivating, and Rise of the Beasts easily proves Ramos and Fishback are worthy of leading more blockbusters like Transformers. (Of course, Ramos is already set for a villainous role in Marvel Studios’ Ironheart.)

    As great as Ramos and Fishback are, though, the robots themselves are better than they’ve ever been. The charm that Bay’s Transformers films lacked is more than evident in Rise of the Beasts. Their character designs are great, the action scenes are absolutely thrilling, and fans will easily find themselves on the edge of their seats wondering what will come next. The CGI is never overdone, and neither are the fights. Rise of the Beasts is everything fans wanted from the first films; it’s thrilling, charming and exciting.

    And the ending? Well, it seems Paramount has a lot in store for fans. Try to avoid spoilers as much as possible because the surprise ending is sure to delight.

    Overall, Rise of the Beasts is everything Transformers fans have been wanting from the films. It’s action-packed, led by two of Hollywood’s most promising young actors and serves as a great new starting point for the Transformers franchise.

  • Summer Box Office May Be Slowing Down With ‘The Flash’ and ‘Elemental’s Soft Forecasts

    Summer Box Office May Be Slowing Down With ‘The Flash’ and ‘Elemental’s Soft Forecasts

    Here’s a surprise but it seems the summer tentpoles are showing quite a bit of a slowdown. The Little Mermaid is heading to a strong $120M+ opening weekend over Memorial Day, which puts it at $100M over three days. That is slightly behind the other Disney releases Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantmania but still a strong opening if the film has legs like the previous Guardians film.

    Yet, the rest of the box office is looking a little lukewarm so far. Fast X made a huge splash internationally but is slowing down quite a bit domestically at $67.5M. Even the return of the former box office champion isn’t really lighting up the box office’s engine with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts tracking for a soft $40M in early projection. Yet, it seems some other hopefuls aren’t showing that momentum many hoped for this year.

    The Flash is currently heading for $70M. It’s quite a bit lower than what Warner Bros. Discovery is banking on given that they used all of Shazam: Fury of the Gods‘ marketing budget on this film that they are pushing as “the best superhero film of all time.” The question remains if it’ll have strong word-of-mouth and legs afterward. If it offers what is promised, it does have a good chance but it’s still far from where you’d want your $250M+ film to open.

    There’s also the depressing development of Pixar’s box office due to the Disney+ releases throughout the last few years. Elemental is looking at a $40M similar to Transformers, which would put it on track with Onward and The Good Dinosaur but even Ratatouille managed to become a success with a soft $47M. They just need to hope that old momentum carries over.

    Source: Variety, Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Eyeing a Soft $40M Opening Weekend in Early Projections

    ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Eyeing a Soft $40M Opening Weekend in Early Projections

    A long time ago, the Transformers franchise under the leadership of Michael “Bayhem” Bay was one of the biggest releases in theaters. Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction went on to make billions at the box office but started to lose momentum with the release of The Last Knight and Bumblebee. While the latter was a fresh take and much closer to what fans hoped to see from this franchise, the franchise definitely lost quite a bit of momentum as it went on.

    One could argue that the lack of Transformers branding could also have softened its opening, but it still managed to pull in $465M on a softer $102M production budget. The opening weekend at $21M had many concerned that this franchise might run out of steam, but that doesn’t mean production companies will try to keep a potential billion-dollar franchise dormant for long.

    So, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the next attempt to revitalize the franchise by bringing back Optimus Prime and even introducing the more out-there concept of the Maximals. The promotion has not been shy about showcasing these characters that carry on the introduction of Lockjaw and the dinosaur-based Transformers while also re-introducing the classic characters in familiar designs closer to what Bumblebee offered.

    Yet, it seems early projections aren’t looking too optimistic for the franchise return. Pre-sales at the moment are closer to underperformers like recent releases Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Morbius. Plus, the summer market is extremely stuffed (leaving its scars in the earlier quarter of the year) and may lead to quite a few films cannibalizing each other. June is quite a bit stuffed with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Flash, who shared very similar audiences.

    As of now, the film is tracked for an opening somewhere between $30M and $40M. That would put it lower than 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight which opened to $44M. Of course, it’s still an early projection and they might push the marketing quite a bit more the closer we get to release. The only issue is that this VFX-heavy release might be another $200M production investment that may not get paid off.

    For now, we’ll have to keep a close eye as projections change but we might be seeing more and more that what some called a “superhero fatigue” is closer to a blockbuster fatigue. There are certain expectations in 2023 that are showing strong patience for streaming offerings due to how it was handled throughout the last few years. Last year seemed less impacted due to a limited release schedule but we’ll have to see how many films actually get lots in the shuffle.

    Source: Box Office Pro, The Numbers

  • Michelle Yeoh & Pete Davidson Board ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    Michelle Yeoh & Pete Davidson Board ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    Michelle Yeoh and Pete Davidson have joined the cast of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for Paramount. Yeoh will voice the Maximal Airazor, while Davidson will lend his voice to the Autobot Mirage. The news was announced on Tuesday by director Steven Caple Jr. in behind-the-scenes videos featuring the actors recording their lines for the film.

    In the Instagram post, which can be seen below, Caple Jr. teases their involvement in a series of playful videos. “Pete Davidson in disguise. 😂 @transformersmovie cast is amazing, man. Sneak peek of Pete voicing Mirage & @michelleyeoh_official blessing us as the voice of Airazor #rotb 2023″

    Production on the movie wrapped in October 2021. While details regarding Rise of the Beasts are being kept under wraps, a recent rumor suggests we’ll see the Transformers face Unicron in the forthcoming film. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. It is currently set to hit theaters on June 9, 2023.

    Source: Deadline.

  • RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    We’ve long speculated on who might be the next foe in Transformers‘ latest cinematic release. As the franchise moves away from Michael Bay‘s time with the characters, it’s starting to embrace more elements from the original animated series. The upcoming entry by Steven Caple Jr. will introduce the world to elements from the Beast Wars storyline and act as a sequel to Bumblebee. If a new rumor is to believed, we might also know how exactly they will be facing.

    While there’s no word if Megatron or Starscream might return, we do know that the Terrorcons and Maximals will have a role in the film. Yet, it seems that @ViewerAnon took to Twitter to share that the film will include Unicron as it’s big bad. There’s no word if he’ll potentially have an overarching role or they might use the Lord of Chaos for multiple entries.

    If the rumor is true, it’s certainly quite a step up to have a planet eater as your main bad guy. With his focus on devouring the multiverse, perhaps it’s a concept they want to use to make the new film franchise stand out. Marvel’s quite busy building up their own multiversal storyline as DC hopes to do the same with The Flash. So, it seems fitting that one of the other massive pop cultural cinema franchises also takes its chance into the wider multiverse. Perhaps it’s also their way of establishing their new timeline while keeping the door open to revisit the old franchise in some way.

    Source: Twitter

  • Paramount Delays ‘Transformers’ and ‘Star Trek’ Films

    Paramount Delays ‘Transformers’ and ‘Star Trek’ Films

    As the pandemic continues to impact the movie industry, we’re seeing a constant shifting of release dates. This is partly due to studios wanting to maximize profits by releasing a film at a better time. This had caused many studios to vacate release dates claimed years ago, as profits have diminished significantly due to COVID-19. The latest studio to make a massive shift in release dates is Paramount.

    On Tuesday, Paramount shifted both Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and an unnamed Star Trek film back on its release calendar. Transformers, which stars In The Heights star Anthony Ramos and Judas and the Black Messiah star Dominique Fishback, has been moved a full year from June 24, 2022, to June 9th, 2023. It is now set to go head-to-head with an unknown Sony/Marvel film, and serve as both Ramos and Fishback’s next salvo in their ascension into the upper ranks of the best actors of their generation. 

    The unnamed Star Trek film vacated the June 9th date now held by Transformers, and will now release on Dec. 22, 2023. Interestingly enough, the move comes after it was recently announced director Patty Jenkins‘ Star Wars movie, Rogue Squadron has been delayed. Rogue Squadron was originally set to hit theaters on Dec. 22, 2023. While Jenkins’ film still retains its 2023 release date, is not expected to enter production in 2022, indicating the film will move on Disney’s calendar in the coming months.

    Source: Variety

  • Steven Caple Jr. Shares New Look at Optimus Prime As Production Wraps on ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    Steven Caple Jr. Shares New Look at Optimus Prime As Production Wraps on ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

    All eyes have been on the new entry in the Transformers franchise. The subtitle Rise of the Beasts promises a very different take on the characters we’ve seen in cinemas so far. We’ll get to explore many different factions of the famous alien robots and director Steven Caple Jr. has been actively giving us a good look at their production. He shared a look at the Autobots and Decepticons earlier this month but remains coy on the Predacons and Terrorcons who are rumored to appear in the series. Now, as production wraps up, he shared a new look at Optimus Prime’s truck design in the film.

    It feels like production started just recently. So, it’s always a surprise when they share the announcement that production has wrapped up. Caple Jr. has been great at actively sharing from the production, as it offers some insight into what we can expect. The designs seem closer to that what we saw in the Bumblebee film, which was one of the standout aspects of that film. In the film’s opening, we see the blocker designs from the classic cartoons and toy lines. Of course, it still had some elements from Michael Bay‘s run to keep the complexity of what is beneath their exterior.

    Source: Twitter

  • First Official Look at ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Autobots and Decepticons

    First Official Look at ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Autobots and Decepticons

    In July, we got our first glimpse at Bumblebee and Optimus Prime from the set of Transformers: Rise of the Beast. It was only a leak at the time, but Steven Caple Jr. has taken to Instagram to give us our first look at the team of Autobots and what may be this film’s Decepticons. We heard that they’ll be joined by Predacons and Terrorcons with Ron Perlman voicing Optimus Primal, but they commonly have animal-inspired base forms.

    The image only shares their car forms, but they still offer a good glimpse at the designs they are going for. Bumblebee has seemingly gone through another redesign. It also doesn’t fully match the set photos that we saw, which might hint at him going through another change. The bike does hint at the inclusion of Arcee potentially in the film.

    We still haven’t gotten a confirmation of which members of each team will be represented. It does seem like they are focusing on a more grounded story as the showcased Transformers are mainly car-based this time around. There’s always the chance they simply aren’t included in these set photos. There are very likely quite a few mystery additions that Caple Jr. is keeping from fans and this might simply be scratching the surface of what is heading our way once it hits theatres.

    Source: Instagram