‘Transformers 4’ Has Huge Friday Despite Poor Reviews, Lengthy Run Time

Transformers 4, otherwise known as Age of Extinction, might not be getting greeted by glowing reviews but the movie is being greeted by plenty of people paying to see the film.

There were some indicators that the movie would be enough of a blockbuster that it would earn some serious coin and that seems to have come true. Now that Friday’s box office numbers are officially in, Philly.com is reporting that Transformers 4 made more than $41 million on its first full day.

While Transformers 4 opened with some “review proof” numbers the money it makes on Saturday and Sunday will be the real test. Considering that reviewers have almost universally panned the film, Transformers 4 will certainly have a steep hill to climb.

Age of Extinction seems to be buoyed by the fact that action films like this rarely, if ever, get great reviews from the established Hollywood press. A film like Transformers 4 is going to be more of the “shut your brain off and enjoy it” type of film.

It’s also going to have a direct appeal to people who actually watched the cartoon and played with the toys growing up. This is likely why the age of people heading to the film has skewed upwards.

A majority (58 percent) of those who attended Transformers 4 on Friday were over the age of 25. Just how willing people will be to sit through the film as the weekend goes on remains to be seen.

Among the complaints about Transformers: Age of Extinction is the length of the film. Clocking in at just under three hours, plenty of people have commented the film could have been an hour shorter and still provided the exact same story.

Other complaints about the film are based in the script and the characters. As the Atlantic points out, one of the main characters is a 20-year-old named Shane who is dating Cade’s (Mark Wahlberg) 17-year-old daughter.

When Cade points out that that its statutory rape, Shane refers to the Romeo and Juliet part of Texas’ statutes on the crime. A character who has memorized state statutes regarding statutory rape seems less like someone we want to root for and more like someone we should be watching very closely, in case he crosses over completely into Pedophile territory.

Despite it’s many flaws, Transformers 4 is going to make some serious money. The questions is whether or not the movie’s big opening means for a jaw-dropping weekend, or whether Transformers: Age of Extinction will slowly peter out.