Chapter 681: I'd Rather Die Than Go to the Restroom

Box office records, transform!

Transformers broke box office records on its very first day of release in North America. Its Tuesday gross reached 35.4 million dollars, setting a new North American Tuesday record.

By Wednesday, the film's box office didn't drop; it rose. Though the increase was only five percent, its 37.17 million dollars still set a new North American Wednesday record.

However, it was a weekday after all. After burning through the enthusiasm of countless Transformers fans over its first two days, the film dropped eleven percent on Thursday, grossing 33.08 million dollars.

In just three non-holiday days, the North American box office for Transformers broke the 100 million dollar mark.

The fanbase the franchise had accumulated over the years, combined with Duke's immense personal draw, played an absolutely critical role in this.

On Friday, Transformers entered its first North American weekend. Thanks to the previous three days of screenings, word of mouth had already spread. Despite mixed reviews, audiences still flocked to theaters.

Through the word of mouth of ordinary moviegoers, Transformers was hailed as an incredibly spectacular sci-fi action blockbuster—exactly the type of film the summer season audience loved most.

"In those beautiful days, our eyes were filled with vibrant colors and dazzling transformation sequences. Our ears were full of grinding machinery and rhythmic rock music. Magical sci-fi concepts and an endless stream of technological jargon pushed our little brains in front of the TV to the limit. In those times, we all became tiny spectators beside the grand stage of the universe, experiencing every joy and sorrow through the battles between good and evil, beauty and ugliness, benevolence and wickedness."

"Magnificent imagination, vivid storytelling, and excellent production seamlessly integrated Transformers into our childhoods, turning it into an indelible classic in our memories."

Repeated viewings by Transformers fans provided the most fundamental baseline for the film's box office.

And the support of the vast majority of casual moviegoers was the key to its rapid box office surges.

Since the release of Transformers, there had indeed been critics who found fault with it, arguing that its commercial flavor was too strong. But the overall response from mainstream North American media and moviegoers was quite positive. The shocking action scenes and epic background music were enough to leave audiences pumped up. Many casual moviegoers stated that the visual impact of this film was no less than what they felt watching Jurassic Park in 1993: "I was just staring dumbfounded in the theater, refusing to use the restroom even if it killed me!"

Although the film skewed toward a younger demographic, there was no shortage of viewers in their thirties and forties.

"I'm over thirty years old, but the moment I heard Optimus Prime say 'Autobots, transform' in the theater, my eyes filled with tears."

This was a post by a fan on a forum, and the deep affection his generation held for Transformers was the exact foundation that allowed this live-action adaptation to achieve such high box office numbers.

Mike Vroman, a spokesperson for the distributor Warner Brothers, also stepped up to champion the film. "Transformers has generated the best three-day weekday box office in history. This film has incredibly broad appeal. It's the kind of summer blockbuster that can draw an entire family, and we are excited to see it continue its triumphant march through the weekend."

Indeed, Transformers received mixed reviews in North America, but the attacks basically all came from the severely declining circle of professional film critics.

Remarks like "Duke Rosenberg simply doesn't know how to portray the humanity and depth of a character" and "To think the director who once made a masterpiece like The Dark Knight would shoot such a garbage film" emerged endlessly.

Even Kenneth Turan, a columnist and film critic for the Los Angeles Times who was usually friendly toward Duke, felt he had gone a bit overboard with the special effects.

"Robots crashing into each other and smashing through entire buildings, buildings collapsing onto the streets, fighter jets hovering overhead, the ultimate battle between Megatron and the righteous hero Optimus Prime... Amid the deafening sounds of combat, there's also intense heavy metal accompaniment. There are just too many endless CGI scenes. It's overwhelmingly excessive, and it feels entirely unnecessary. The production team should have re-evaluated their strategy instead of just playing around with these transforming and fighting games on screen. What I mean is, CGI is a crucial element of this film, but our pizza can't be made entirely of CGI."

However, not many moviegoers bought into their narrative. Transformers was never made for people who preferred mild, watered-down films anyway.

The box office was undoubtedly the best proof of the film's popularity in North America.

Weekend box office numbers were undeniably important for a commercial summer season blockbuster. On Friday, the very start of its opening weekend, Transformers turned in an exceptionally brilliant performance.

Even though it had already been playing in North America for three days, the film still raked in 37.26 million dollars on Friday alone.

After the global premiere in China ended, the production team split into two groups. Duke led a small team to stay in China and coordinate the film's promotion across the entire Western Pacific region, while Tina Fey led the main cast and crew back to North America to focus on the marketing campaign there.

During a press event, Tina Fey, as a producer, was asked by reporters about the professional film critics attacking the movie.

Influenced by Duke, her disdain for film critics was practically deep-rooted.

"Everyone on the crew worked as hard as we possibly could, and I'm glad to see that audiences—other than the critics—love this film. So let's just ignore those critics. Do they represent the audience? No! Therefore, a movie's first priority is to be loved by the audience."

Facing the crowd of media reporters, Tina Fey did not mince words. "In North America, the concept of a free market is deeply ingrained. If the audience doesn't like a film, they won't spend a single cent on it. But the current situation is that the vast majority of audiences clearly love Transformers very much. So why should we care about the opinions of a group of barely three hundred people?"

Compared to Duke, who sometimes had to mind his public image, Tina Fey was far more direct. "Even in the face of fierce backlash from critics, the vast majority of moviegoers are still flooding into theaters to watch the live-action Transformers movie. This fact is the main reason why critics are so furious and are attacking this film so aggressively—because their reviews are constantly ignored by the public."

"They are a group of people living in the past. Times have changed, yet they haven't. They still think they are the center of the film industry, that a single review can determine the life or death of a movie. They constantly take it for granted that they can handpick films for audiences across America based on their own preferences, trying to dictate what movies people should and shouldn't watch."

"But information is much freer now. The new generation doesn't blindly trust any professionals when choosing movies; they buy tickets based on their own preferences. Frankly speaking, film criticism is an industry in rapid decline."

"It's exactly this situation that has caused widespread dissatisfaction among many critics. They've begun to abandon their previously somewhat objective stances and always want to dictate to younger audiences. They were supposed to review the film itself objectively, but they ended up clashing with mainstream audiences. This is simply because they've discarded the cinematic perspective, treating themselves as the sole standard of correctness while arrogantly attacking what audiences enjoy."

"Actually, these critics are no longer worth our attention. They are hardly 'reviewing movies' anymore; they are just 'shouting at the top of their lungs,' trying to reclaim the glorious status they held as film critics ten or even twenty years ago."

When reporters asked for her opinion on Duke's work, Tina Fey was full of praise.

"Those of us who are his friends call his working style the 'Duke Operating System.' It feels like fighting a war. It's chaotic. There are explosions everywhere, and cameras are mounted anywhere you can think of around the set. You stand there and feel like an idiot, not knowing what you should be doing. But once Duke finishes editing, my god, the results are incredible. He practically uses the cameras to perform an exquisite ballet. He knows exactly where every single piece should go. His mind is incredibly sharp."

Data released by a certain research firm might have been the best footnote to Tina Fey's views on film critics.

CinemaScore conducted a four-day statistical survey at four of the most famous theaters across America. When the results of this survey—bluntly titled "Would You Choose a Film Based on the Reviews of Prominent Critics?"—were published, it placed well-known critics in an extremely awkward position.

The survey results, published across numerous mainstream media outlets, showed that the percentages of audiences at the four theaters who completely ignored critics' reviews were 84 percent, 79 percent, 81 percent, and 82 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, those who said they actually chose films based on the reviews of prominent critics were a mere 2.3 percent, 1.9 percent, 2.2 percent, and 1.3 percent—and almost all of these respondents were viewers over the age of thirty-five.

Of course, the Saturday and Sunday box office for Transformers was also supporting evidence that the market influence of professional film critics could be completely ignored.

Although the box office showed a downward trend on both days, the drop was limited. Transformers was operating entirely on a normal, healthy trajectory that fully aligned with market patterns.

Saturday's single-day box office dropped by only four percent compared to Friday, taking in 35.77 million dollars; Sunday's drop was slightly higher, yet still only eleven percent, grossing 31.83 million dollars.

In its opening weekend in North America, Transformers easily claimed the champion's throne on the box office charts with 104.86 million dollars.

The film's cumulative North American box office also reached 210.51 million dollars.

Not only did Transformers achieve stellar results in the North American market, but it was also incredibly popular in the hundreds of overseas countries and regions where it was released. In South Korea, for example, it not only had the best online ticket presale performance in South Korean cinematic history, but it also attracted 4.31 million viewers within a week of its release, breaking South Korea's box office record.

Also in this same week, Transformers swept up a staggering 232.11 million dollars from overseas.

In just seven days of release, its global box office reached the terrifying figure of 442.62 million dollars.

Although it couldn't compare to the global opening week box office of over 450 million dollars set by Pirates of the Caribbean 3, for a non-sequel film, this was already a remarkable achievement.

In addition, Transformers also sparked a very bizarre incident in China.