Don Murphy was initially interested in developing aG.I. Joe film, but then decided to develop aTransformers film after the United Stateswent to war against Iraq in 2003. Murphy andTom DeSanto developed the project in 2003, and DeSanto wrote atreatment.Steven Spielberg came on board as executive producer the following year, hiring Orci and Kurtzman to write the screenplay. TheU.S. Armed Forces andGeneral Motors loaned vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes. Hasbro's promotional campaign for the film included deals with various companies; advertising included aviral marketing campaign, coordinated releases ofprequel comic books, toys, and books, as well asproduct placement deals with companies such as General Motors,Burger King, andeBay.
The planet Cybertron was ravaged by a civil war between twoTransformer factions — theAutobots, led byOptimus Prime, and theDecepticons, led byMegatron — for the AllSpark, a cube-like object that is the source of all Cybertronian life. The Autobots want to find the AllSpark to rebuild Cybertron and end the war, while the Decepticons want to use it to conquer the universe. Megatron found the AllSpark onEarth, but crash-landed in theArctic Circle and was frozen in the ice.Captain Archibald Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumbled upon Megatron in 1897. Captain Witwicky accidentally activates Megatron's navigational system, causing his eyeglasses to be imprinted with the coordinates of the AllSpark's location. Sector 7, a secret U.S. government organization, discovers the AllSpark in theColorado River and builds theHoover Dam around it to mask its energy emissions. The still-frozen Megatron is transported into the facility and isreverse engineered to advance human technology.
In the present day, the Decepticons —Blackout,Scorponok,Frenzy,Barricade,Starscream,Bonecrusher andBrawl — have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles. Blackout and Scorponok attack the U.S.SOCCENT military base inQatar and try to hack into theU.S. military network to find the location of Megatron and the AllSpark, but their mission is thwarted when the base staff severs the network cable connections. While Blackout wrecks the rest of the base, Captain William Lennox, Sergeant Robert Epps, and their small group of survivors with photographic evidence of the robots escape the destruction. They are pursued by Scorponok, but he is repelled by air strikes. In the process, Lennox's team discovers that the only effective weapons against the Transformers' armor are high-heatsabot rounds. After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltratesAir Force One to hack into the military network and, in doing so, plants avirus. He finds the map imprinted on Archibald's glasses, which is owned by his descendant, Sam Witwicky, leading him and Barricade to begin tracking Sam's location inLos Angeles.
One of the Autobots,Bumblebee, is also on Earth, disguised as a1976 Chevy Camaro,[8] and is bought by Sam while shopping for his first car. Bumblebee helps him woo his crush,Mikaela Banes, and leaves at night to transmit a homing beacon to the Autobots, with Sam briefly seeing his robot form. The next day, Barricade confronts Sam and demands his grandfather's glasses, but Bumblebee rescues him and Mikaela. After Bumblebee upgrades his vehicle form by scanning a 2007Chevrolet Camaro, they rendezvous with the Autobots — Optimus,Jazz,Ironhide, andRatchet — who have landed on Earth and taken on forms of Earth vehicles as well. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home and obtain the glasses. Government agents from Sector 7, led by Seymour Simmons, arrive to arrest Sam and Mikaela, and capture Bumblebee after the Autobots try to rescue them.
Frenzy, disguised as a mobile phone, secretly accompanies the group to the Hoover Dam, where he alerts the other Decepticons upon locating the AllSpark and releases Megatron. Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can get the AllSpark to Optimus. Frenzy's virus has shut down worldwide communications, but a pair of hackers, Maggie Madsen and Glen Whitmann, manage to establish a signal to theAir Force. The Autobot-human convoy goes to Mission City to obtain a radio to guide the Air Force and secure an extraction for the AllSpark as Decepticon forces attack the convoy. Bonecrusher, Jazz, Frenzy, Brawl, and Blackout are killed in the ensuing battle, and Sam manages to ram the AllSpark into Megatron's chest as he battles Optimus, killing him and destroying the AllSpark. Optimus takes a fragment of the AllSpark from Megatron's corpse, but realizes that Cybertron cannot be restored with its destruction. The U.S. government decommissions Sector 7 and sinks the deceased Decepticons into theLaurentian Abyss, while Sam and Mikaela begin a relationship, Starscream escapes into space, and Optimus sends a signal to other surviving Autobots, directing them to Earth.
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes, a classmate of Sam who assists him in his mission by using skills she learned as a juvenile car thief from her convict father.
Amaury Nolasco as Jorge "Fig" Figueroa, a Special Operations soldier who survives the destruction of the SOCCENT base in Qatar and was also a member of Captain Lennox's team.
Zack Ward as First Sergeant Donnelly, a member of Captain Lennox's team.
W. Morgan Sheppard as Captain Archibald Witwicky, Sam's great-great-grandfather who accidentally activates Megatron's navigational system while exploring the Arctic Circle.
Peter Cullen asOptimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots who transforms into a blue and red 1994Peterbilt 379 semi-trailer truck. Cullen had previously voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s cartoon and was chosen to reprise his role.
Reno Wilson asFrenzy, the Decepticon hacker and Barricade's minion, who transforms into a PGXBoombox, and later aNokia N93i.Howard Stern was offered the role, but turned it down when his agent talked him out of it.[11][12]
Hugo Weaving asMegatron, the leader of the Decepticons who transforms into a silver Cybertronian jet.Frank Welker was considered to reprise his role, but according to the film's DVD commentary, Bay thought his voice did not fit, so Weaving was chosen instead. After Weaving left the role, Welker returned as the voice of Megatron in later sequels.
In all the years of movie-making, I don't think the image of a truck transforming into a twenty-foot tall robot has ever been captured on screen. I also want to make a film that's a homage to 1980s movies and gets back to the sense of wonder that Hollywood has lost over the years. It will have those Spielberg-ian moments where you have the push-in on the wide-eyed kid and you feel like you're ten years old even if you're thirty-five.
Steven Spielberg, a fan of the comics and toys,[15] signed on as executive producer in 2004.John Rogers wrote the first draft, which pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons,[19] and featured theArk spaceship.[20]Roberto Orci andAlex Kurtzman, fans of the cartoon,[21] were hired to rewrite the script in February 2005.[22] Spielberg suggested that "a boy and his car" should be the focus.[23] This appealed to Orci and Kurtzman because it conveyed themes of adulthood and responsibility, "the things that a car represents inthe United States".[24] The characters of Sam and Mikaela were the sole point of view given in Orci and Kurtzman's first draft.[25] The Transformers had no dialogue, as the producers feared talking robots would look ridiculous. The writers felt that even if it would look silly, not having the robots speak would betray the fanbase.[21] The first draft also had a battle scene in theGrand Canyon.[26] Spielberg read each of Orci and Kurtzman's drafts and gave notes for improvement.[23] The writers remained involved throughout production, adding additional dialogue for the robots during the sound mixing (although none of this was kept in the final film, which ran fifteen minutes shorter than the initial edit).[27] Furman'sThe Ultimate Guide, published byDorling Kindersley, remained as a resource to the writers throughout production.[27]Prime Directive was used as afake working title. This was also the name ofDreamwave Productions' firstTransformers comic book.[28]
Michael Bay was asked to direct by Spielberg on July 30, 2005,[29] but initially he dismissed the film as a "stupid toy movie".[30] Bay admitted that he was skeptical when he was offered to direct.[3] Nonetheless, he wanted to work with Spielberg, and gained new respect for the concept upon visiting Hasbro.[29] Bay considered the first draft "too kiddie", so he increased the military's role in the story.[29][31] The writers sought inspiration from G.I. Joe for the soldier characters, being careful not to mix the brands.[32] Orci and Kurtzman were concerned the film could feel like amilitary recruitment commercial, so they chose to make the military believe nations likeIran were behind the Decepticon attack as well as making the Decepticons primarily military vehicles.[33] Bay based Lennox's struggle to get to the Pentagon phoneline while struggling with an unhelpful operator on a real account he was given by a soldier when working on another film.[29]
Orci and Kurtzman experimented with numerous robots from the franchise, ultimately selecting the characters most popular among the filmmakers to form the final cast.[15] Bay acknowledged that most of the Decepticons were selected before their names or roles were developed, as Hasbro had to start designing the toys.[34] Some of their names were changed because Bay was upset that they had been leaked.[35] Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only characters present in each version of the script.[21]Arcee was a female Transformer introduced by Orci and Kurtzman, but she was cut because they found it difficult to explain robotic gender; Bay also disliked her motorcycle form, which he found too small.[32] An early idea to have the Decepticons simultaneously strike multiple places around the world was also dropped.[25]
Bay said the film cost $145 million and explained "My secret is, I shoot very, very fast." Bay compared his way of working toJames Cameron as they both work quickly and serve as their ownassistant director. Bay took a 30% reduction in his fee to keep the production in Los Angeles and work with his usual crew.[3] Producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce, said the film cost only $150 million, and called it "a bargain" compared to the other tentpole films that summer, which cost as much as $300 million.[36] According to Kim Masters ofNPR, instead of boasting about how much they had spent, the studios did not want to admit to their real budget and risk further cost inflation on other projects, and her Hollywood source said that the budget ofTransformers had passed $200 million.[5]
The filmmakers incorporated valid physics into their designs, establishing the necessity for a robot's size to correspond to that of its disguise. The layout ofOptimus Prime's robotic body within his truck mode is seen here.
The filmmakers created the size of each robot with the size of their vehicle mode in mind, supporting the Transformer's rationale for their choice of disguise on Earth.[37] The concept of traveling protoforms was developed by Roberto Orci when he wondered why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".[38] This reflected a desire to move to a more alien look, away from the "blocky"Generation 1 Transformers.[39] Another major influence in the designs wassamurai armor, returning full-circle to the Japanese origins of the toy line.[37] The robots also had to look alien, or else they would have resembled other cinematic robots made in the image of man.[40]
A product placement deal with General Motors supplied alternate forms for most of the Autobots, which saved $3 million for the production.[41] GM also provided nearly two hundred cars, most of which were flood damaged or non-salable, destined for destruction in the climactic battle scene.[37] TheU.S. Armed Forces provided significant support, enhancing the film's realism: the film featuresF-22s,F-117s, andV-22 Ospreys, the first time these aircraft were used for a film; soldiers served as extras, and authentic uniforms were provided for the actors.[29]A-10 Thunderbolt IIs andLockheed AC-130s also appear. Captain Christian Hodge joked that he had to explain to his superiors that the filmmakers wanted to portray most of their aircraft as evil Decepticons: however, he remarked "people love bad guys".[37]
To save money on the production, Bay reduced his usual fee by 30%. He planned an 83-day shooting schedule,[29] maintaining the required pace by doing more camera set-ups per day than usual. Bay chose to shoot the film in the United States instead of Australia or Canada, allowing him to work with a crew he was familiar with, and who understood his work ethic.[29][31][41] A pre-shoot took place on April 19, 2006, andprincipal photography began three days later atHolloman Air Force Base,[8] which stood in forQatar. Due to their destruction later in the film by the Decepticon Blackout, the majority of the military structures shown on-screen were not property of Holloman Air Force Base, but were purchased ahead of filming from a private manufacturer of military shelter systems, AKS Military.[42] To film the Scorponok sequence atWhite Sands Missile Range, asweep was performed to removeunexploded ordnance before building of a village set could begin; ironically, the village would be blown up. The scene wasbroken down for theAir battle managers flying aboard theAWACS aircraft, who improvised dialogue as if it were an actual battle.[29][43]
The company also shot atHoover Dam and atThe Pentagon, the first time since theSeptember 11 attacks that film crews had been allowed at these locations.[8] The external Hoover Dam scenes were shot before tourists arrived daily at 10:00 a.m., with shooting moving inside for the remainder of the day.[43] Production in California was based atHughes Aircraft atPlaya Vista, where the hangar in whichMegatron is imprisoned was built.[43] Six weekends were spent in Los Angeles, California shooting the climactic battle, with some elements being shot on theUniversal Studios backlot and at Detroit'sMichigan Central Station.[8][43] The crew was allowed to shoot atGriffith Observatory, which was still closed for renovations begun in 2002 and would reopen in November 2006.[8] Filming wrapped on October 4, 2006.[31]
The film has been found to re-use footage from Bay's previous filmPearl Harbor (2001).[44]
Spielberg encouraged Bay to restrictCGI to the robots and background elements in the action sequences.[29] Stunts such asBonecrusher smashing through a bus were done practically, while cameras were placed into the midst of car crashes and explosions to make it look more exciting.[43] Work on theanimatics began in April 2005.[19] Bay indicated that three quarters of the film's visual effects were made byIndustrial Light & Magic (ILM), whileDigital Domain made the rest,[29] including the Arctic discovery ofMegatron; Frenzy's severed head; avending machine mutated by the Allspark, and the Autobots' protoforms.[45] Many of the animators were big Transformers fans and were given free rein to experiment: a scene whereJazz attacksBrawl is a reference to a scene inThe Transformers: The Movie where Kup jumps on Blitzwing.[37]
I just didn't want to make the boxy characters. It's boring and it would look fake. By adding more doo-dads and stuff on the robots, more car parts, you can just make it more real.
— Michael Bay on the level of detail he wanted for the robots[46]
ILM created computer-generated transformations during six months in 2005, looking at every inch of the car models.[47] Initially the transformations were made to follow the laws of physics, but it did not look exciting enough and was changed to be more fluid.[48] Bay rejected a liquid metal surface for the characters' faces, instead going for a "Rubik's Cube" style of modeling.[29] He wanted numerous mechanical pieces visible so the robots would look more interesting, realistic, dynamic and quick, rather than like lumbering beasts.[29][46] One such decision was to have the wheels stay on the ground for as long as possible, allowing the robots to cruise around as they changed.[49] Bay instructed the animators to observe footage of two martial artists and numerousmartial arts films to make the fights look graceful.[29]
Due to the intricate designs of the Transformers, even the simplest motion of turning a wrist needs 17 visible parts;[8] each of Ironhide's guns are made of ten thousand parts.[46] Bumblebee uses a piece below his face-plate as an eyebrow, pieces in his cheeks swivel to resemble a smile, and all the characters' eyes are designed to dilate and brighten.[49] According to Bay, "The visual effects were so complex it took a staggering 38 hours for ILM to render just one frame of movement";[8] that meant ILM had to increase their processing facilities.[50] Each rendered piece had to look like real metal, shiny or dull. This was difficult to model because the aged and scarred robots had to transform from clean cars. Close-up shots of the robots were sped up to look "cool", but in wide shots the animation was slowed down to convincingly illustrate a sense of weight. Photographs were taken of each set. These were used as a reference for the lighting environment, which was reproduced within a computer, so the robots would look like they were convincingly moving there. Bay, who has directed numerous car commercials, understoodray tracing was the key to making the robots look real; the CGI models would look realistic based on how much of the environment was reflecting on their bodies.[37] Numerous simulations were programmed into the robots, so the animators could focus on animating the particular areas needed for a convincing performance.[50]
ComposerSteve Jablonsky, who collaborated with Bay onThe Island, scored music for the trailers before work began on the film itself. Recording took place in April 2007, at the Sony Scoring Stage inCulver City, California. The score, including the teaser music, uses six major themes across ninety minutes of music.[51] The Autobots have three themes, one named "Optimus" to represent the wisdom and compassion of the Autobot leader, and another played during their arrival on Earth. The Decepticons have achanted theme which relies on electronics, unlike most of the score. The AllSpark also has its own theme.[52]Hans Zimmer, Jablonsky's mentor, also helped to compose the score.[29]
Transformers had its worldwide premiere atN Seoul Tower on June 10, 2007. It was the first time a Hollywood film had its opening event in South Korea.[53][54] The film's June 27 premiere at theLos Angeles Film Festival used a live digital satellite feed to project the film on to a screen.[55] A premiere took place atRhode Island on June 28, which was a freely available event giving attendees the opportunity to buy tickets for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, Adoption Rhode Island, andHasbro Children's Hospital.[56] The film was released inIMAX on September 21, 2007,[57] with extended footage that had not been included in the general theatrical release.[58]
Hasbro's toy line for the film was created over two months in late 2005 and early 2006, in heavy collaboration with the filmmakers.[39] ProtoformOptimus Prime andStarscream were released in the United States on May 1, 2007, and the first wave of figures was released on June 2.[39] The line featured characters not in the film, includingArcee.[37] A second wave, titled "AllSpark Power", was set for release late 2007, which consisted of repaints and robotic versions of ordinary vehicles in the film.[59] The toys feature "Automorph Technology", where moving parts of the toy allow other parts to shift automatically.[60] Merchandise for the film earned Hasbro $480 million in 2007.[61]
Deals were made with 200 companies to promote the film in 70 countries.[62] Michael Bay directed tie-in commercials for General Motors,Panasonic,Burger King andPepsiCo,[63] while props – including the Camaro used for Bumblebee and the AllSpark – were put up for charity sale on eBay.[64] Aviral marketingalternate reality game was employed through the Sector 7 website, which presented the film and all previous Transformers toys and media as part of a cover-up operation called "Hungry Dragon", perpetrated by a "real life" Sector 7 to hide the existence of genuine Transformers. The site featured several videos presenting "evidence" of Transformers on Earth, including a cameo from the original Bumblebee.[65]
Transformers was released on DVD andHD DVD on October 16, 2007, in North America. TheWal-Mart edition of the DVD included a shortened animated version of theprequel comic book, titledTransformers: Beginnings and featuring the voices of Ryan, Cullen, and Dunn, as well as Welker asMegatron.[66] TheTarget copy was packaged with a transforming Optimus Prime DVD case and a prequel comic book about the Decepticons.[66] The DVD sold 8.3 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling DVD of 2007, in North America, and it sold 190,000 copies on HD DVD, which was the biggest debut on the format.[67] The DVDs sold 13.74 million copies, making the film the most popular DVD title of 2007.[68]
The film was released onBlu-ray on September 2, 2008.[69] In the first week, the two-disc edition of the Blu-ray was number one in sales compared to other films on the format. The Blu-ray version accounted for two-thirds of the film's DVD sales that first week, selling the third most in overall DVD sales.[70] On June 16, 2009, Paramount included a sticker on all new Transformers DVDs that contained a code to view exclusive content online from the first film and get a sneak peek atTransformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The content includes three exclusive clips fromRevenge of the Fallen, behind-the-scenes footage from both films, and deleted scenes from the first film.[71]Transformers was released on 4K UHD Blu-Ray on December 5, 2017.[72]
Transformers had the highest per-screen and per-theater gross in 2007 in North America.[73] It was released on July 3, 2007, with8 p.m. preview screenings on July 2. The United States previews earned $8.8 million[74] and in its first day of general release, it grossed $27.8 million, a record for Tuesday box-office gross until it was broken byThe Amazing Spider-Man in 2012.[75] It brokeSpider-Man 2's record for the biggest Fourth of July gross, making $29 million.[76]Transformers opened in over 4,050 theaters in North America[6] and grossed $70.5 million in itsfirst weekend, debuting at #1 and amounting to a $155.4 million opening week, giving it the record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel, surpassingSpider-Man.[77] It would also break other records during its first week, surpassingPlanet of the Apes for having the highest non-sequel July opening weekend,War of the Worlds for scoring the highest non-sequel Fourth of July opening weekend,The Passion of the Christ for having the biggest non-sequel Wednesday gross andIndependence Day for achieving the largest non-sequel Thursday gross.[78] The opening's gross in the United States was 50% more than whatParamount Pictures had expected. One executive attributed it toword of mouth that explained to parents that "it [was] OK to take the kids".Transformers ended its theatrical run in the United States and Canada with a gross of $319.2 million, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2007 in these regions behindSpider-Man 3 andShrek the Third.[79] The film sold an estimated 46,402,100 tickets in North America.[80]
The film was released in 10 international markets on June 28, 2007, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and thePhilippines.Transformers made $29.5 million in its first weekend, topping the box office in 10 countries.[81] It grossed $5.2 million inMalaysia, becoming the most successful film in the country's history.[82]Transformers opened in China on July 11 and became the second highest-grossing foreign film in the country (behindTitanic), making $37.3 million.[83] Its opening there set a record for a foreign language film, making $3 million.[84] The film was officially released in the United Kingdom on July 27, making £8.7 million, and helped contribute to the biggest attendance record ever for that weekend. It was second at the UK box office, behindThe Simpsons Movie.[85] InSouth Korea,Transformers recorded the largest audience for a foreign film in 2007 and the highest foreign revenue of the film.[86]
Worldwide,Transformers was the highest-grossing non-sequel film in 2007 with $709.7 million, making it Bay's fourth highest-grossing film to date, with three of its sequels surpassing it.[6] It was also the fifth highest-grossing film of 2007 worldwide, behindPirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,Spider-Man 3 andShrek the Third.[87]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 57% of 227 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "While believable characters are hard to come by inTransformers, the effects are staggering and the action is exhilarating."[88]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[89]
IGN's Todd Gilchrist called it Bay's best film, and "one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably also a whole lot of fun".[90]The Advertiser's Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artificial intelligence".[91]The Denver Post's Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy",[92] andABC presenterMargaret Pomeranz was surprised "that a complete newcomer to the Transformers phenomenon like myself became involved in the fate of these mega-machines".[93]Ain't It Cool News's Drew McWeeny felt most of the cast grounded the story, and that "it has a real sense of wonder, one of the things that's missing from so much of the big CGI light shows released these days".[94] AuthorPeter David found it ludicrous fun, and said that "[Bay] manages to hold on to his audience's suspension of disbelief long enough for us to segue into some truly spectacular battle scenes".[95]Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review, giving it 3 stars out of a possible 4, writing: "It's goofy fun with a lot of stuff that blows up real good, and it has the grace not only to realize how preposterous it is, but to make that into an asset."[96]
Response to the human storylines was mixed.The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt liked "how a teen plotline gets tied in to the end of the world",[7] whileEmpire's Ian Nathan praised Shia LaBeouf as "a smart, natural comedian, [who] levels the bluntness of this toy story with an ironic bluster".[97]Ain't It Cool News founderHarry Knowles felt Bay's style conflicted with Spielberg's, arguing the military story only served as a distraction from Sam.[98]James Berardinelli hated the film as he did not connect with the characters in-between the action, which he found tedious.[99]Los Angeles Times'Kenneth Turan found the humans "oddly lifeless, doing little besides marking time until those big toys fill the screen",[100] while ComingSoon.net'sJoshua Starnes felt the Transformers were "completely believable, right up to the moment they open their mouths to talk, when they revert to bad cartoon characters".[101]Daily Herald's Matt Arado was annoyed that "the Transformers [are] little more than supporting players", and felt the middle act was sluggish.[102]CNN's Tom Charity questioned the idea of a film based on a toy, and felt it would "buzz its youthful demographic [...] but leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower".[103]
Transformers fans were initially divided over the film due to the radical redesigns of many characters, although the casting ofPeter Cullen was warmly received.[37]USA Today summarized the views of critics and audiences saying "there is general raving about the mechanical heroes and general grumbling about the excessive screen time given to some of the human characters played by Shia LaBeouf, Anthony Anderson, Tyrese Gibson and Jon Voight. Optimus Prime, the leader of the good-guy Autobots, doesn't appear until midway through the film."[104]Transformers comic book writerSimon Furman andBeast Wars script consultant Benson Yee both considered the film to be spectacular fun, although Furman also argued that there were too many human storylines.[105] Yee felt that being the first in a series, the film had to establish much of the fictional universe and therefore did not have time to focus on the Decepticons.[106] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. With audiences under 18 the score rises to "A+", and the film was most popular with children and parents, including older women, and attracted many African American andLatino viewers.[107]
The film created a greater awareness of the franchise and drew in many new fans.[108]Transformers' box office success led to the active development of films based onVoltron andRobotech,[109] as well as aKnight Rider reboot.[110] When filming the sequel, Bay was told by soldiers the film helped their children understand what their work was like, and that many had christened theirBuffalos – the vehicle used for Bonecrusher – after various Transformer characters.[111]
After the film's 2009 sequel was titledRevenge of the Fallen, screenwriter Orci was asked if this film would be retitled, just asStar Wars was titledStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when re-released. He doubted the possibility, but said if it was retitled, he would call itTransformers: More Than Meets the Eye.[112]
The second film,Revenge of the Fallen was released June 24, 2009. The third film,Dark of the Moon was released June 29, 2011. The fourth film,Age of Extinction was released June 27, 2014, and the fifth film titledThe Last Knight was released on June 21, 2017.Revenge of the Fallen,Dark of the Moon andAge of Extinction were financial successes, whileThe Last Knightfailed at the box office. The sequels have received mostly mixed to negative reviews. The sixth filmBumblebee was released on December 21, 2018, to positive reviews. It is the highest-rated film in theTransformers series. The seventh filmRise of the Beasts was released on June 9, 2023, to mixed reviews.[124]
^Bob Tourtellotte (July 1, 2007).""Transformers" film yields big bang on fewer bucks".Reuters.Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. RetrievedAugust 19, 2010.But the producers of "Transformers", Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce, say they have spent only $150 million on "Transformers", and they reckon they got a bargain.
