https://tomeoftrovius.com/2018/12/21/transformers-box-office-analysis/
Overall, the Transformers franchise was a good idea in conception, executed to worldwide success only to suffer from problems later on which ultimately will likely close the franchise down (hopefully). The first film, Transformers, came out in 2007 to great success, both in the domestic and international markets and almost quintupled the budget. The next, Revenge of the Fallen, excelled in every direction from the opening weekend to scoring $130 million above the past film’s worldwide profits with a larger budget than the previous. This success would continue, in a way, for the third, Dark of the Moon, yet would begin to show the signs of stress. The worldwide profit cracked the billion dollar mark, a great moment of success; however this was thanks to the international market, not the U.S. The mainland market shed $50 million from the domestic record set by Revenge of the Fallen and the opening weekend was also down. This switch can set a dangerous precedent because certain film scan fall out of favor in the US, remain popular abroad for a bit and then fall into failure. The fourth film, Age of Extinction bore this out.
The international market (with China making up a massive amount of that) once again rose to support the film and supplied the majority of the money to take the film over $1 billion and it’s good that they did because at this point the U.S. market was uninterested. The opening weekend was the second best at that point but the domestic total was the lowest yet. This means that interest was high in the film yet died out fast as people stopped caring.
Box Office Mojo is great by the way!
If you're interested in transportation you can also read more at this link right here:
https://tomeoftrovius.com/2018/12/21/transportation/