Home Made VW Jetta Transformer In China

Thanks to the movies, Transformers is growing ever more popular in China as the characters are being more frequently used to promote various products. Revenge of the Fallen is highest grossing movie ever in the country surpassing Titanic. To the right is a homemade VW Jetta used by a Beijing mall to promote a new movie theatre. The full gallery can be found here.

From the article:

The Chinese fascination, perhaps better called an obsession, with all things Transformers has not yet reached its peak. The release of the second Transformers movie in China has only served to make the Transformers stronger than before in the PRC, which has resulted in various Autobots doing lucrative product sponsorship on various products from male skin care products to kids cereal. Some companies have run with the Transformers success to push their own business, Citroen for example used a dancing robot to push its new Citroen C4, and then there’s the Beijing mall that used their own home made VW Jetta bot to garner publicity for their own recently opened movie theatre.

Transformers 2 Loses Top International Spot

The actual numbers are in and sadly Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has taking Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the top movie of the year internationally with an overseas total of $430.9 million to TF2's $396.6 million. However, this position will not hold as it appears that Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince is well on its way to reaching a billion dollars.

HP6's first five days of release in the states came to $158.0 million and overseas was a record breaking $236 million making it the highest grossing foreign opening ever beating Spider-Man 3's $230.5 million. As I indicated before, if the movie maintains its popularity overseas, odds are very high it could become the fifth movie to surpass the billion dollar mark, something that Transformers 2 is not going to achieve.

Speaking of Revenge of the Fallen, the final weekend numbers is third place with $13.7 million estimate was accurate bringing its domestic total to $363.8 million and ranking it 13th in the all time top grossing movies chart (88th if adjust for inflation). Overseas sales came to $13.5 for an overseas total of $396.6 bringing its worldwide total to $760.4 million. At this rate the movie should pass the $800 million mark by the end of the week.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date US Intl Worldwide

6/19-6/23 $0.0 $24.1 $24.1
6/24-6/28 $200.2 $166.2 $366.4
6/29-7/02 $50.9 $52.7 $103.6
7/03-7/05 $42.3 $55.0 $97.3
7/06-7/09 $21.6 $35.1 $56.7
7/10-7/12 $24.2 $31.4 $55.6
7/13-7/16 $10.9 $18.6 $29.5
7/17-7/19 $13.7 $13.5 $27.2
Totals $363.8 $396.6 $760.4
*estimate of sales

EZ Collection Devastator Gallery

The EZ Collection Devastator gallery for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has popped up online that provides close-up look at the seven vehicles and their alt modes. Each individual robot is similar in size and detail as the other Legends class line and currently limited to a Japan only release or at least nothing for the States or Europe has been announced. The combined Devastator mode is about the size of Deluxe Skids and actually looks surprising good. Below are select images with the full gallery here.

Harry Potter 6 Fails To Beat Transformers 2 In States

Despite a huge advertising blitz, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince failed to catch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in first five nor first weekend of release in the US based on early estimates. HP6 weekend is first weekend is looking to be around $79 million bringing its five day total to $159 million. Transformers 2 first weekend was $108.9 million, five day was near record breaking $200.1 million.

Having said that, the numbers are not in for the international gross which is important as the film is likely to do very well overseas. Where TF2's totals are split evenly between US and international sales, the Harry Potter series traditionally does 3 times as well overseas. That proportion resulted in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to earn a worldwide gross of $938.2 million, 68.9% of that total from overseas sales. If that pattern holds then the five day international totals could be as high as $230 bringing the worldwide gross to $389.7 million, easily surpassing Transformers 2's $366.2 million.

The net result of all this estimated number crunching (assuming they closely match Monday's actuals) is it is pretty much a lock that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will remain the top movie of the year in the States but Harry Potter 6 will be the top movie in worldwide totals and could possibly become only the fifth movie in the world to pass the billion dollar mark (not adjusting for inflation). Just something to keep in mind if planning on any "I told you so" fun with friends.

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date US Intl Worldwide

6/19-6/23 $0.0 $24.1 $24.1
6/24-6/28 $200.2 $166.2 $366.4
6/29-7/02 $50.9 $52.7 $103.6
7/03-7/05 $42.3 $55.0 $97.3
7/06-7/09 $21.6 $35.1 $56.7
7/10-7/12 $24.2 $31.4 $55.6
7/13-7/16 $10.9 $18.6 $29.5
7/17-7/19 $13.7*
Totals $363.8 $383.1 $766.8
*estimate of sales

Devastator Size Comparison

Thanks to TFG2; here is an image that compares the size of Devastator with its component parts to give you an idea of the scale for each. Sadly High Tower was not "cloned" in the movie so no robot mode exists. Of note is it appears that Long Haul may get a toy release.

Tokyo Toy Show Gallery

From the recent Tokyo Toy Show (that technically was "no photography allowed") are a few images that show off Buster Optimus Prime, the Alternity Bumblebee mold, Human Alliance Bumblebee and Skids, and the Device Label line. Below are few pictures but the full gallery that includes images of the Supreme Devastator and other ROTF toys can be found here. (via TFW2005)

Human Alliance Sideswipe, Nemesis Soundwave And Fearswoop

More Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen galleries has popped up online for toys from the line that have not yet been released.The first is a new gallery of Human Alliance Sideswipe that is looking pretty slick. I think the Deluxe toy is the best of the line and this one looks like a keeper to. No idea when it’s coming out. The full gallery with lots of close-ups is here.

Next is another gallery of images of Toys R Us exclusive Gathering at the Nemesis set with Deluxe Soundwave repainted in Generation One colors. As the picture shows, the look suits him. No info on cost or release date. The full gallery can be found here.

Last is another exclusive set, this time for Wal-Mart called "The Fury of Fearswoop". Sadly the one image is all we have so no bio, price or release date info. The set appears to include Legends class Sideswipe and Mudflap and Deluxe Fearswoop. Fearswoop is a repaint of Dreadwing figure from the first movie line and the according to TFW2005, the color scheme is a nod to Generation Two character Hooligan. I am guessing the reason for "Fearswoop" rather than Hooligan has something to do with inability to get the copyright for the name.

AutoAssembly Convention In UK

America held its annual Transformers convention with Botcon and now it appears the United Kingdom is planning their own with AutoAssembly Transformers Convention. AA09 will be held from the 15th to 16th in Birmingham, England. The guests so far are Greg Berger voice of Grimlock and Jetfire in the Generation One cartoons and Ian James Corlett who voice Cheetor for Beast Wars and Beast Machines. Based on level of pre-registrants they also might be able to get Neil Kaplan who was Optimus Prime for the Robots in Disguise cartoons.

For all the details include cost, attendee packages and non-attendee packages go to the official Auto Assembly website here.

Transformers 2 Holds Wednesday Records Hold Up

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen remains king of the Wednesday opening as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince just fell short with a $58.4 million opening day compared to TF2's $62 million first day. This is despite a record breaking $22.2 million in midnight screenings that easily surpassed Revenge's $16 million and The Dark Knight's $18 million.

It seems that Transformers 2 $201 million five day opening may just hold up which would indicate that race for box office king for the year is going to much closer than expected. Overall the reviews for the film have been very good but this movie doesn't have as much effects or action as the previous films as it’s essentially a setup for the final two movies. Still worth seeing but not really full of moments that might lead to repeat business (to me anyway).

New Alternity, Encore Cassette Set And More

If you live in the land of the rising sun you already know that you get the best Transformers made on the planet. In non-movie related news, Takara has released a bunch of new toys it’s releasing for its various lines for Transformers that are exclusive to Japan.

A new Alternity vehicle to join Optimus Prime and Megatron. The new figure will be Bumblebee which will come in "champion yellow or "red pearl" (aka Cliffjumper). The Alternity line is 1/32 scale Transformers (so about Deluxe sized) with a license from Japanese companies for the alt mode that has die-cast parts. The tentative release date is November 2009 and costs around $50(USD) each.

The Disney Label has two new additions with Donald Duck as Bumblebee with a white paint job and VW Bug alt mode and Mickey Mouse as Optimus Prime with Halloween paint job. The first release with Mickey Mouse is now hard to come by, costs $50(USD) and seems big but is really about Scout sized.

Next up is Encore Re-issue #19, Cassette Big Mission 3 Set. This is a continuation of the re-release of the entire cassette Generation 1 Transformers. This set includes Frenzy, Rumble, Overkill and Laserbeak, costs about $50(USD) and estimated release date is November 2009.

In movie related news, Generation One character Hoist gets homage with a repaint of Longarm from the first movie's toy line. Longarm was released as part of the Human Alliance set and later as a Deluxe figure. Full gallery here.

Finally, it appears the Transformers will get the bobble-head treatment based on the image that was found in Hawaii. I am not sure what others are involved but safe to assume it includes at least Megatron and Bumblebee.

If you are interested in getting most of these toys, especially the Japan only releases, you are going to have to order online. Most websites do have pre-orders and yes in most cases the cost is higher than your use to but that is the price of buying imports. The release date is just estimates.

Giant Gundam Replica In Action

The giant Gundam robot replica now up and running and the result is pretty spectacular. Apparently this is a first of a series of replicas. The next one is Tetsukin (Gigantor) which is already under construction. I just want to know when it will be Transformers turn. Any case below is a video of the completed robot/statue doing its thing.

New Content For ROTF The Game

Activision has announced that a downloadable expansion pack for Playstation 3 and XBox 360 version of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game will be released later this summer that will include 10 new characters, three new maps and a new difficulty mode. The price and exact date has not been released.

The highlights:
- New characters include Generation 1 Starscream and Sideswipe.
- New characters are for multi and single player mode.
-"Expert" difficulty mode will have new leader boards
- New Achievements and Trophies will become available.

ROTF Leader Optimus Prime Variant

According to TFW2005, a variant version of Leader class Optimus Prime may be released in November (currently Japan/Takara only) that has modified gas tanks that combine to form the big gun Prime wielded against Megatron in the movie. He will also have a modified head sculpt that removed the faceplate.

Revenge Passes First Movie In Worldwide Gross

After the release of Monday's box office numbers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has passed its predecessor in worldwide gross total with $711.6 million to Transformers $708.3 million and did it in only 20 days. At this rate it does appear the movie will cross the $800 million worldwide total threshold but not get much further than that. What impact Harry Potter 6 will have should be interesting since both movies are after essentially the same audience on HP6 is getting much better reviews over all (95% rating).

TF1 vs. TF2 (in millions)

Date US Intl Worldwide

TF1 $319,246,193(45.1%) $389,026,399(54.9%) $708,272,592
TF2 $342,305,825(48.1%) $369,314,131(51.9%) $711,619,956

Ask Orci, Final Edition?

It has been a few months since checked the Don Murphy and TFW2005 Ask Orci (writer of Transformer films) and did a summary. Main reason is because he took a break for the Star Trek world tour. This could be the last edition but hopefully not, time will tell. Orci covers topics from the Twins language, why no vocoder for Soundwave, more Prime action, and more. My comments in brackets [].

Wankertron: Who's idea was it to include questionable language in the robot's dialogue? I refer to Wheelie calling people "bitch", and the twins coming out with "pussy". It's one thing for a kid to repeat bad language after watching, for instance, a Schwarzenegger movie. Because then one can say "Well, what were they doing watching that?", and the blame can be laid elsewhere. But In Transformers? A movie designed for kids? I felt it was inappropriate. What's your take?Those examples were improvised or added by Michael. We actually arm wrestled about it. I think it's appropriate barely as you approach 13. If we had final cut, those lines would not be in the movie. But I'm not going to cry that Michael left them in, or condemn him. Can't argue with results, right? Certainly the first movie walked the line, and there's been no false advertising, or at least not MUCH![The Twins were specifically created and marketed for the kids and then preceeded to use frequent adult language. The PG-13 rating is Bay's excuse for bad behavior but at the end of the day he screwed up, plain and simple. If he wanted to use adult language, he shouldn't have created characters designed for kids. Its not rocket science.]

Master Fwiffo: what exactly was the intent with Arcee? Is she supposed to be one bot in three bodies, or three separate bots, or what?Wrote her as one who made up of three. Bay kept them as individuals.[On the bright side, even with one of the three dead, they were never named or directly implied to be seperate so the third film could go with the writer's orginial concept with ease.]

BRAWN1228: Can you tell us what scene it was that Bay put in the movie where he said "The fans are gonna love this."He said that about a few things, I think. Certainly, Megs abusing Starscream.

butz: which fandom was crazier; the Transformers fans or the Star Trek fans?too close to call

neospark1: ...not vocoding Soundwave's voice is an incredible injustice/mistake. How hard did you go to bat for this? Soundwave's "look," personality, and his voice are the three top iconics on him.We hassled him about it many times, but we can't be there every second to make sure he behaves! We got day jobs!

Chris B: How did you come to decided the alien satellite alt. mode for Soundwave? What other alt. modes did you consider for Soundwave? Were there any particular Autobots and Decepticons that you had planned on including but were cut?On Soundwave we recall that as a Boom Box, he was one of the true SPY Decepticons who could blend in anywhere and record things. So a SPY SATELLITE who can see everything seemed like an interesting update. We considered a super rigged up audio kind car and, of course, it's original boom box form. I wanted every Autobot in there!

The Mad Artist: 1. Was Barricade ever meant to be in the movie? 2. Do you see Devastator as being made up of individual robots, or just separate pieces? 3. Was there ever thought of him having more of a role on the battlefield, or was he always meant to be the eye in the sky? 4. Was that Blackout? Was he just revived off camera along with Megatron? 5. ...was there any roadblocks to getting Prime so much hero time? 6. Speaking of BB, were there ever plans for him to speak?
1. Considered it. Honestly can't remember reasons for decision!
2. I suppose since we didn't commit either way, I wouldn't want to tie the hands of future writers with my non-canon opinion.
3. Fought to have him come down, but so many robots to service and he had his moments -- his main draw is as a spy.
4. Could explain it that way, but I can't remember if he's ever called Blackout in the movie. Is there a Revenge of the Fallen Blackout Toy?
5. We knew we had to do A LOT more with Prime this time, and if we could do it again we would have EVEN MORE time with Prime.
6. We discussed it, but we all loved the musical ability so much, and Bay wanted to focus more on the twins because, as he said, he thought kids would like them

mattjy: 1. There were five new Autobots (Sideswipe, Arcee, Jolt and the Twins), yet only the twins had a large degree of screentime. What was the reasoning behid this choice? 2. Was the fact that the Autobots spent so much time in vehical mode, even when they were beign transported an artistic decision or a practical one?1. Michael loved the idea of the twins and wanted to feature them to make the movie, as he said, kid friendly.2. I don't disagree. Money can be tight!

Transformers 2 Defeated by Bruno

Based on current estimates Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's weekend run at the box office has come to an end as Bruno took the top spot with $30.4 million. The news gets a little worse as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs took the second spot with $28.5 million. Revenge came in third with $24.2 million raising its domestic total to $339.2 million and now has passed the first movie's domestic total of $319 million with ease.

I found some international estimates which shows TF2 made an additional $31.4 million for an overseas total of $364.5 for a worldwide total of $703.7. This is just $4.6 million short of the first movies worldwide take of $708.3M which took months and the sequel only 20 days to surpass. Harry Potter 6 is about to land in three days so whatever momentum TF2 has is about to come to a screeching halt. Transformers 2 currently holds the top spot for the year but will HP6 grab it away?

Box Office Totals (in millions)

Date US Intl Worldwide
6/19-6/23 $0.0 $24.1 $24.1
6/24-6/28 $200.2 $166.2 $366.4
6/29-7/02 $50.9 $52.7 $103.6
7/03-7/05 $42.3 $55.0 $97.3
7/06-7/09 $21.6 $35.1 $56.7
7/10-7/12 $24.2* $31.4* $55.6
Totals $339.2 $364.5 $703.7
*estimate of sales

ROTF Writers Talk Racism And The Twins

One of the things I have noticed in recent interviews with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman is a small degree of distancing from the more crass humor in the movie, especially from the Twins and "testicles" on Devastator. The duo spoke with Film School Rejects about The Twins and completed the "don't look at me" transition.

Cole: I heard that the gold tooth was Michael Bay’s idea, but do you have any response to those who found The Twins offensive?Orci: Number one, we sympathize. Yes, the gold tooth was not in the script, that’s true.Kurtzman: It’s really hard for us to sit here and try to justify it. I think that would be very foolish, and if someone wants to be offended by it, it’s their right. We were very surprised when we saw it, too, and it’s a choice that was made. If anything, it just shows you that we don’t control every aspect of the movie.

Cole: Were you offended by them?Kurtzman: I wasn’t thrilled. I certainly wasn’t thrilled.Orci: Yeah, same reaction. I’m not easily offended, but when I saw it, I thought, ‘Someone’s gonna write about that.’”

From what I have read, pretty much the source of most of the humor that people have groaned about and found offensive came from the mind of third ROTF writer of Ehren Kruger and director Michael Bay. I am sure there is some mix and match from all four but based on the duos previous writing efforts the rumor has validity. I guess depending on your view of the movie's humor, this makes Kruger a new writer to watch or one to avoid. (via TFW2005)

DVD Release Of ROTF In September?

Previously it was indicated that the DVD and Blu-ray release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen might be in October 24th.Now a new page on Amazon for the Special Edition version indicates a September 2009 date. The page is for a comic book store and the most recent issue of Previews (for September sales) did have Revenge listed so might be related to that. Also TFAW.com indicates September 30th as the date. The first movie was released on October 16th, 2007 and the window between theatrical run to home video keeps getting smaller so the date is plausible. Hopefully something will be released soon to verify Paramount's home video plans for the movie. I would hold off ordering anything until a date is officially confirmed, besides the prices will be better and might include exclusive stuff depending on store.

Product Description:

From Paramount Home Video! The battle for Earth has ended - but the battle for the universe has just begun! Returning to Cybertron after bitter defeat at the hands of the Autobots, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons with a singular purpose - to return to Earth in force! Meanwhile, the Autobots, believing peace possible, discover that Megatron's remains have been stolen from the US Military by Skorpinox, who revives him using his own spark. Now reenergized, Megatron seeks revenge, and with Starscream and his Decepticon reinforcements on the way, the Autobots may have more to deal with than meets the eye! Director Michael Bay returns to helm this super-charged sequel to the highly successful, big-screen adaptation of everyone's favorite 'Robots in Disguise' for DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Turturro. Scheduled to ship in September 2009.

New Alliance Sideswipe, Skids Images

New images of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Human Alliance Sideswipe and Skids have appeared on AmiAmi. Sideswipe will come with Tech Sergeant Epps and Skids with Mikaela who is also sized so also ride Deluxe Arcee. Below are a few images, the rest can be found here.

Plans In Motion For Transformers 3?

The debate seems to continue as to whether Paramount will push for Transformers 3 to be released on July 1st, 2011 or if they will concede to director Michael Bay's preference of a break and push it back to June 2012. Associated Content revisits the debate and seems to indicate that while Paramount would prefer 2011 the decision on Michael Bay returning for TF3 will ultimately decide things.

Though it is debatable whether a new Transformers movie could be made by 2011, but is looking to be a certainty is two of the main players coming back for a third installment. Director Michael Bay has stated that he wants to come back to the third chapter after a small break from "fighting robots", and star Shia LaBeouf has also stated that he would come back at least one more time. It's a smart decision, as this is a franchise that could continue to make both parties very wealthy over the long term.