New Transformers movie flops as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice continues box office domination

Optimus Prime is no match for Michael Keaton

The long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, has claimed a narrow victory over the latest Transformers movie to retain its number one spot at the box office.

It’s the third straight week that the follow-up to Tim Burton’s 1988 classic has dominated the box office but Transformers One, a new animated feature in the sci-fi franchise, did come close to toppling it from the summit.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which features returning stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder as well as Jenna Ortega, earned an impressive $26m (£19,526,260) over the weekend while the newly released Transformers One racked in $25m (£18,775,250).

The animated prequel, featuring the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Brian Tyree Henry, tells the origin stories of the two main adversaries in the Transformers universe Optimus Prime and Megatron and has received positive reviews.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in comparison has defied expectations despite pallid reviews from critics largely unimpressed by the second instalment. Its runaway success at the box office has seen it make $329.7m (£247m) globally.

Although Transformers One almost matched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s box office tally for the weekend, its earnings so far will be considered a disappointment.

The movie, which had a budget of $75m (£56,323,125) was projected to make between $30-40m and at the time of writing has only managed to bring in $14m (£10,513,650) internationally.

Despite Transformers having its origins as an animated series in the 1980s, Transformers One is only the second ever Transformers animated movie.

The Transformers: The Movie (1986), which is the last ever movie credit for the great Orson Welles, also underperformed at the box office making just $1,778,559m (£1,335,653) but has since become a cult favourite amongst fans. Overall, this is the eighth Transformers movie since 2007 and the first since 2023’s Rise of the Beasts.

The rest of the box office saw James McAvoy’s new horror movie Speak No Evil claim third place with another horror movie Never Let Go securing fourth position. Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine hung in at five while Demi Moore’s critically acclaimed The Substance opened in sixth.

She’s got the juice: Ascendant movie star Jenna Ortega in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' (Warner Bros)

The full US box office can be seen below:

1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice $26m

2. Transformers One $25m

3. Speak No Evil $5.9m

4. Never Let Go $4.5m

5. Deadpool & Wolverine $3.9m

6. The Substance $3.1m

7. Am I Racist? $2.5m

8. Reagan $1.7m

9. JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL $1.4m

10. Alien Romulus $1.3m