Recently, Hasbro and Fathom Entertainment teamed up to bring the 1986 animated film “The Transformers: The Movie” back to cinemas for a week to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary.
Marketed under the playful name of ‘The Apology Tour,’ referring to the film’s shocking death of beloved hero Optimus Prime early on in the movie, the release also included the 12-minute animated short “Optimus Prime: Awakening”. That marked the final performance of voice actor Peter Cullen, who died last month.
The result was a surprisingly strong reception – more than anticipated. The theatrical re-release pulled in $3.1 million last weekend in the U.S., taking the seventh spot in the Top 10, and as of Tuesday has crossed $5 million globally.
It beat out a number of newcomers on more screens including the Ethan Hawke-led “The Weight” and animated sequel “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom”.
While the re-release was expected to end on Wednesday, hundreds of cinemas worldwide have now opted to continue to run the film, with some already setting showtimes to run through October 7th.
As of Tuesday, the title has been Fathom’s No. 3 highest-grossing film of the year behind only “The Amazing Digital Circus” and the re-release of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”.
Source: THR
