Bumblebee has been a success for Paramount despite coming in with lower box office than the last Transformers film and has even made more of a profit for the studio.
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Viacom CEO Bob Bakish recently spoke at the Citi TMT West Conference, and during the talk, he congratulated Paramount on a successful turnaround. So far Bumblebee has brought in around $309 million at the box office, which isn’t bad at all though it is under what some expected a Transformers film to do (via THR).
Bakish explained though that while Bumblebee has made less than the previous Transformers installment, Transformers: The Last Knight actually lost the studio $100 million, while Bumblebee has already been in his words “solidly profitable”. The Last Knight drew in over $605 million at the box office, but that was also against a hefty $217 million dollar price tag. Double that for advertising and then throw in the rough critical reception and you can see why despite Bumblebee earning half that it is still a profit for the studio.
What’s helped Bumblebee is the solid word of mouth according to Hailee Steinfeld.
“I think that that’s what people are learning after they see it,” Steinfeld told ScreenRant. “And so, here I am, spreading the word. This is a film with a lot of heart and soul. If that’s what you’re looking for, you can find that as well as what you know and love from Transformers films.”
Many are calling Bumblebee the best Transformers film in the franchise, so here’ hoping it can make enough to warrant more films like this one.
If you’re unfamiliar with Bumblebee, you can find the official description below.
“On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.”
Bumblebee stars Hailee Steinfeld (Edge of Seventeen), John Cena (Daddy’s Home 2), Pamela Adlon (Better Things), Stephen Schneider (Broad City), Jorge Lendenborg Jr. (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Jason Drucker (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Hall), Kenneth Choi (American Crime Story), Ricardo Hoyos (Degrassi: Next Class), Abby Quinn (Landline), Rachel Crow (Deidra & Laney Rob a Train), and Grace Dzienny (Zoo).
Bumblebee is in theaters now.
