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In seven years there have been four releases, and this opening is on the upper end. Even if you count inflation, the numbers are close. I would expect entry four into this franchise to do pretty well over the 4th of July Frame, and domestically to approach somewhere around $300 million. Is that great? No. At home, it may make the least amount compared to the other three.

The foreign money involved here, and even with the BOP discussion I don't think we truly grasp how much we are talking about, is going to be sickening. The first Transformers earned $700 million worldwide. Revenge of the Fallen increased that number to $836 million. Three years ago Dark of the Moon took home $1.2 billion during its run. Age of Extinction, with this opening, is going to be massive. I guess I am in awe of what this franchise is accomplishing. It has positioned itself within a rare group of films whether we like it or not.

David Mumpower: Telling people not to watch Transformers movies is like telling teens not to drink. They are going to do it, nobody can stop them from doing it, and everybody knows it's a stupid thing to do. We all have our blind spots, and said blind spots apparently equate to $190 million in China, Canada and the United States. Everyone has already stated the reality of the situation. Age of Extinction will earn a great deal less than any of its predecessors. It probably will not earn $300 million domestically, maybe as much as $50 million less. Even so, it is now poised to absolutely destroy the final global box office of Revenge of the Fallen, the number eight movie of all time. I expect Transformers 4 to earn placement in the top five in terms of global revenue, which says everything about how stubborn we are as a people with regards to brain dead entertainment. Empirically, there is absolutely no difference in quality between Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transcendence. Johnny Depp should have fought robots instead of becoming one.

Kim Hollis: I’m going to say something that might sound weird and yet perhaps will make perfect sense. The opening for Transformers: Age of Extinction is almost kind of boring. Yes, the numbers in China are huge, but I feel like we’ve been approaching this tipping point in that region for some time. Overseas numbers have all been inflating rapidly, and China is clearly one of the markets where studios are most eager to expand their reach.

With regards to the domestic number, it feels odd to be saying this about a $100 million opener, but it’s an entirely expected debut, down to the fact that the studio probably lied to make sure that they were able to stake the claim to being the first film to reach that lofty peak in 2014. The only thing that is really impressive to me about this opening is the fact that that many people were actually willing to spend money to sit through 165 minutes of the same brainless garbage Michael Bay has produced time and again.

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