Print TRANSFORMERS 2 Rolls Past Ice Age 3

While out celebrating the nation’s birthday this weekend, it seems that family audiences just could not decide which movie deserved their hard-earned cash at the box office. In a box office race that was too close to decide yesterday, the weekend's actuals have come in and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has landed on top of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs by a mere $650,000.

Paramount and DreamWorks' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has officially landed on top with $42.3 million for this July 4^th weekend. The Bay-directed sequel is showing on 4,234 theaters so it came up with an average rate of $10,038 per showing and with the latest performance in the bag, the film has a domestic gross of $293.3 million.

Both films had incredible performances overseas as well. After twelve days at the box office, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen has pulled in $298 million in foreign numbers to match the film’s domestic tally. This makes for a worldwide gross of $591.4 million after just two full weekends of release.

20^th Century Fox likewise has a reason to celebrate, with Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs winning the oversea battle by taking in $148.0 million in its first week of foreign distribution. The third animated installment followed in 2nd place with $41.6 million in receipts. With the film’s domestic estimates currently at $66.7 mil since opening on Wednesday, the studio has a worldwide cume of $214.7 million after just five days of release. A great start for a film which reportedly cost only $90 million to produce.

Following in 3^rd place is Universal Pictures’ Public Enemies. Despite the star power of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, the latest Michael Mann film found only $25.2 million on 3,334 theaters over the weekend. Since opening on Wednesday the film has a domestic gross of $40.1 million. The budget is set at $100 million.

Walt Disney’s romantic comedy, The Proposal, takes home the 4^th place spot with an estimated $12.8 million over the holiday. With the film’s first three weekends in the bag, the house that Mickey built has grossed $94.3 million against a budget of only $40 million. If you include the film’s foreign take of $5.9 mil the studio has hit the $100 worldwide mark today.

Warner Bros. continues to hold steady with The Hangover continuing to increase its profit margins. Produced on a budget of just $35 million, the film became the fourth 2009 release to find the $200 domestic mark on Saturday. This weekend’s performance of $11.2 million has the film’s tally at $205.0 million.

Rank	Movie	Weekend	Theaters	Average	Total	Budget
1	Transformers 2	$42.3 mil	4,234	$9,995	$293.4 mil	$200
2	Ice Age 3	$41.6 mil	4,099	$10,171	$66.7 mil	$90
3	Public Enemies	$25.2 mil	3,334	$7,580	$40.1 mil	$100
4	The Proposal	$12.8 mil	3,099	$4,149	$94.3 mil	$40
5	The Hangover	$11.2 mil	3,070	$3,630	$205.0 mil	$35
6	Up	$6.5 mil	2,656	$2,477	$264.8 mil	$175
7	My Sister’s Keeper	$5.7 mil	2,606	$2,221	$26.5 mil	$30
8	The Taking of Pelham 123	$2.5 mil	1,908	$1,310	$58.4 mil	$100
9	Year One	$2.3 mil	2,240	$1,037	$38.3 mil	$150
10	Night at the Museum 2	$2.0 mil	1,419	$1,440	$167.7 mil	$60

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has jumped ahead of the pack after attracting double-digit numbers each day since its theatrical debut and it seems unlikely that any summer film has a chance to catch it beyond the upcoming sixth installment of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Budget: $200 mil
Opening: $108.9 mil
Domestic: $293.4 mil
Foreign: $298.0 mil
Worldwide: $591.4 mil

Budget: $150 mil
Opening: $46.2 mil
Domestic: $130.7 mil
Foreign: $330.8 mil
Worldwide: $461.5 mil

Budget: $165 mil
Opening: $72.5 mil
Domestic: $249.8 mil
Foreign: $124.1 mil
Worldwide: $373.9 mil

Budget: $150 mil
Opening: $53.5 mil
Domestic: $167.7 mil
Foreign: $194.1 mil
Worldwide: $361.8 mil

Budget: $150 mil
Opening: $85.0 mil
Domestic: $178.3 mil
Foreign: $183.2 mil
Worldwide: $361.6 mil

Budget: $200 mil
Opening: $43.0 mil
Domestic: $122.4 mil
Foreign: $201.5 mil
Worldwide: $323.9 mil

Budget: $175 mil
Opening: $68.2 mil
Domestic: $264.8 mil
Foreign: $35.3 mil
Worldwide: $300.2 mil

Budget: $35 mil
Opening: $44.9 mil
Domestic: $204.1 mil
Foreign: $61.5 mil
Worldwide: $265.6 mil

Budget: $90 mil
Opening: $42.5 mil
Domestic: $67.5 mil
Foreign: $148.0 mil
Worldwide: $215.5 mil

Budget: $100 mil
Opening: $23.3 mil
Domestic: $58.4 mil
Foreign: $4.8 mil
Worldwide: $63.3 mil

Budget: $100 mil
Opening: $18.8 mil
Domestic: $47.6 mil
Foreign: $3.2 mil
Worldwide: $50.8 mil

Budget: $100 mil
Opening: $26.1 mil
Domestic: $41.0 mil
Foreign: $5.3 mil
Worldwide: $46.3 mil

TRANSFORMERS 2 Rolls Past Ice Age 3 (Mania.com)