Transformers Fans Push 40th Anniversary Run Past Its End Date

The Transformers: The Movie is still drawing fans to theaters 40 years after its first release, giving Hasbro and Fathom Entertainment a box office win that outpaced expectations. The remastered 4K rerelease opened Sept. 17 for Transformers Day and was first promoted as a one-week event. It reached No. 7 at the domestic box office with $3.1 million from 1,454 North American theaters during its opening weekend. The release had passed $5 million worldwide by Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The turnout led hundreds of theaters around the world to keep showing The Transformers: The Movie 40th Anniversary past its planned end date. Some locations have scheduled screenings through Oct. 7, showing that the franchise’s older fans remain willing to buy tickets when studios give them a reason to return. Hasbro built the anniversary campaign around “The Apology Tour,” a reference to the 1986 film’s decision to kill Optimus Prime early in the story. The scene, which occurs about 26 minutes into the film, stunned young fans and became one of the best-known moments in animated movie history. “We’re thrilled at Fathom, but we also had high expectations,” Fathom Entertainment vice pr...