Less than a week before its release, Transformers: Age Of Extinction ( Transformers 4 ) is finding itself in some hot water. Beijing Pangushi Investment Co. Ltd., an investment firm behind the Pangu Plaza (and investor in Transformers 4) –a Beijing property that is featured in the [ Transformers ] film–“[alleges] that its partners had not lived up to their side of the bargain,” and is opting to suspend its cooperation on the film, Los Angeles Times reports .
Even worse for Transformers 4 , the investment firm is demanding “that any images featuring the company’s building should be deleted from the film or its marketing materials” (via GMA News Online ). A spokesperson from Paramount spoke regarding the situation:
Pangu Plaza has a prominent placement in Transformers 4 and it looks beautiful onscreen… We regret that Pangu is not currently satisfied with certain aspects of our collaboration and are working to resolve its concerns.
As of right now, it is unclear just how embedded Pangu Plaza actually is in Transformers 4 , and Paramount will need to work their magic to ensure that whatever the outcome, the ticket sales of Transformers 4 in China aren’t affected.
Over the past several years, the importance worldwide ticket sales has increased substantially–especially with blockbusters like Transformers– with worldwide sales ($771 million) counting more than double that of the domestic sales ($352 million) in the most recent Transformers movie , and China played a big role in that. It’s no wonder Paramount felt it worth it to spread the wealth to China for a franchise like Transformers (via The Wall Street Journal):
Paramount…made strategic moves for [ Transformers 4 ], such as casting Chinese actresses, to win over Chinese audiences. China is now the world’s second-largest movie market in terms of box office and is forecast to overtake the U.S. by the end of the decade.
Well, it’s never really a movie without some problems, now is it? And while this Transformers problems is real and annoying, it’s hardly the worst to grace a film (read up on The Twilight Zone film from 1983). What kind of resolution do you expect we’ll see on Transformers 4 ?
Ultimately, deal they cut with the investment firm was worth only $1 million (Out of Transformers’ $200 million budget), but the stakes can be more than meets the eye with an international deal like this (Sorry, Transformers fans).
Thoughts? Will they change Transformers 4 itself, or throw more money at the problem in hopes they’ll recoup it in the long term?