Transformers One's New Release Could Help Save The Movie After Disappointing Box Office

Transformers One, the latest movie in the long-running franchise, has been inundated with glowing praise from both critics and audiences. Unfortunately, this praise has not been translating to box office success, with the film unlikely to make its budget back in the time it has remaining in theaters. It is a sad reality of filmmaking, that despite Transformers One's excellent reviews, it still underperformed because it was simply not able to reach a wide enough audience.

Transformers One's wonderful cast, interesting characters, and intriguing story have unfortunately not been able to prevent the film from becoming a box office failure. However, there is still a chance for the film, no matter how deep into the red it may seem. With an upcoming release on digital streaming, Transformers One's massive critical success could translate to high enough viewership numbers to become a commercial success as well. Many films, even ones in the Transformers franchise, have had a second life on streaming, and hopefully, Transformers One can follow suit.

Transformers One Could Become More Popular On Digital Than At The Box Office

The Film's Second Wind Could Come In The Form Of Streaming

Image via Paramount Pictures

Transformers One releases on digital on October 22, roughly a month after the film's theatrical release. Since its release, it has made nearly $100 million at the box office, against a production budget of around $75 million. On paper, that sounds alright, but marketing and distribution costs tend to double or triple the actual cost of a movie, so it would need to make at least $140 million to break even. With only two weeks left before it lands on streaming, Transformers One seems unlikely to make a profit.

With that being said, hope is not lost for Transformers One. Its exceptional word of mouth has gotten lots of people talking, and even if that hasn't translated to enough people going out to theaters to see it, that positivity could absolutely convince people to give it a watch on a streaming service they already have. Even if the Transformers franchise has had its issues over the years, with the amount of positivity surrounding Transformers One, it has a solid chance of becoming a streaming hit.

Transformers One's Performance On Streaming Is Even More Important Now

There Could Still Be Hope For A Continuation

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While hopes for a Transformers One sequel have been slightly dashed by its underwhelming performance, there is still a chance that a boost from streaming could convince Paramount to invest in a continuation. The box office numbers have never been the be-all-end-all metric of success for films, even before streaming services made it that much easier to watch films no longer in theaters, with DVD sales always factoring in to the overall success of a movie.

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However, streaming does not always save a film, even if it finds a large audience. Movies that failed at the box office but performed well on streaming, like Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, can still be shelved, leaving questions unanswered and future stories untold. That being said, Transformers One is a film in a long-running franchise that has proven it can have a box office draw, so if it does manage to surpass expectations during its home release, seeing more from this universe is certainly a possibility.