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Well I was thinking if you haven’t already decided you’re going to see Transformers: Dark of The Moon, then you’re not going to see it. (Amazing word of mouth from trusted friends aside) Paramount however are doing their level best to convince anyone on the fence that this is the film to see. Including writing to cinema chains and urging them to, essentially, stop being cheap and turn the projection lights up so people aren’t annoyed by 3D films being so dark.
Transformers is a very important for the North American Market. Whilst Pirates 4, Hangover 2, Fast Five, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Thor have all blockbuster status overseas, in North America no film has yet to reach the $300m + mega Blockbuster mark. Add to that the fact that since Thor’s 60% 3D take the percentage of 3D revenue has tumbled to the mid 40s for Kung Fu Panda, Pirates 4 and Green Lantern and the lowest of the recent 3D wave, 37% for Cars 2. It is noticeable that, Kung Fu Panda 2 excepted, the films on that list have all received pretty terrible reviews. So there’s an argument that says Americans and Canadians are no longer willing or able to risk paying higher prices for films they may not love. Now this is a problem very specific to the North American market as (like Thor) Pirates 4, Panda 2 and Cars 2 have done very well in 3D around the rest of the world. The industry is counting on Transformers 3, which was filmed in 3D, to show that people will pay the extra if they feel a film warrants it and that the North American market isn’t sliding into a position, not of irrelevance, but subservience to the requirements of the international market. Cars 2 may be an example of that already happening, with its globetrotting seen as a deliberate attempt to address the first movie’s, relatively low, international takings. The Resident Evil sequels (films 4 & 5 especially) are made almost exclusively because of the money they generate outside of North America and a fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie will definitely be down to the $760m + that number 4 has made around the world and not the sub $250 gross in North America.
So will you be going to see Transformers?
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