Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson’s Transformers animated origin story fails to impress theater audience despite critical acclaim.
Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson are two Marvel stars who went on to explore their fortunes in theTransformers franchise after their feats in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With fans used to seeing them part of blockbuster Marvel movies, which often gross more than an average film would, their venture into the world of Autobots and Decepticons has not been as easy.
Starring in the animated Transformers One, the film has failed to garner enough bucks at the box office so far, leading to a very depressing tally even 10 days after its release. While fans are shocked and disheartened since the film has received critical acclaim, there might still be hope for it after all.
Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson’s Disappointing Transformers Entry
Orion Pax and D-16 in Transformers One | Credit: Paramount Pictures
While Chris Hemsworth apparently seems to have taken a break from the MCU after his shockingly bad Thor: Love and Thunder, Scarlett Johansson‘s character was killed off in the blockbuster Avengers: Endgame. Ever since the two Marvel stars have been busy exploring their fortunes in other genres.
Much to the delight of fans, Hemsworth and Johansson joined the animated flick, Transformers One, lending their voices to Optimus Prime / Orion Pax and Elita-1, respectively. A film set on the home planet of the Transformers, Cybertron, it shows the origins as well as the early relationship between Prime and Megatron (D-16)
Released in the United States on September 20, its box office gross has been massively disappointing, which is shocking since fans and critics seem to love it. Made against a reported budget of $75-$147 million (via Deadline and Animation Magazine), the film so far has only managed to gross $71 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). Currently one of the lowest-grossing Transformers films to date, the upsetting box office performance of Transformers One has left many fans puzzled.
Fans React to Transformers One’s Terrible Box Office Performance
Despite positive reviews and the star power of Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson, Transformers One has struggled to attract audiences. In cinemas with the likes of BeetleJuice BeetleJuice and The Wild Robot, the film has an 89% rating on review sites like Rotten Tomatoes, yet has been facing underwhelming financial results.
Directed by Josh Cooley and distributed by Paramount Pictures, its shocking box office performance has sparked discussions about what went wrong with the film.
Given the fan reactions, it is a no-brainer that many have been hailing the film as one of the best Transformers projects to date. Hence, there is no denying that Paramount should have put in more effort to market the film since it is truly a remarkable origin story of the fan-favorite Optimus Prime and his arch-enemy Megatron.
Yet, there might be some hope for the film after all, for Transformers One has not been released worldwide. As Variety reports, the film only opened in China this weekend with $8 million, in South Korea with $1.4 million, and Brazil with $660,000. Soon it will be released in major international markets as well, including the UK, France, and Germany.
Given how these are all some of the top film markets around the world, there is a possibility Transformers One will be able to out-gross its reported production budget and even make some gains in the upcoming weeks.
Transformers One is currently in theatres.
