If you thought Michael Bay had a stranglehold on the American box office, you are severely underestimating his influence on a global scale. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Transformers: Age of Extinction" has now grossed more than $220 million in China, surpassing 2009's "Avatar" by more than $5 million.
With that figure in mind, "Transformers: Age of Extinction" has become the highest grossing film of all time in China. While the fourth film in the series has been lambasted by fans and has a cumulative Rotten Tomatoes score of just 17 percent, it has not stopped audiences in China from coming out in droves to see the flick.
Experts are pointing to savvy marketing as the reason for the boost in Chinese box office. On top of the built-in audience, China boasts two actors in the cast, Bingbing Li and Han Geng. Furthermore, Paramount Pictures created a reality show that would pick four extra Chinese actors for the movie. It looks like the studio's gamble paid off and producers of the "Transformers: Age of Extinction" are laughing all the way to the bank.
On top of those touches, the film also has what execs are calling "familiar imagery" that has everything from Chinese milk to PCs to Red Bull. There was also the video that cast members put together wishing almost 10 million high-school students good luck on their college entrance exams. That's one way to court favor with a country.
Besides everything else, this boffo box office continues to cement Mark Wahlberg as international superstar. The take for the movie overseas has done something rare in grossing more than it has in North America alone. The mega-production has been screened more than 300,000 times after ten days and continues to outfox other releases. That being said, the film has globally passed the half-billion dollar mark, making the fourth installment a bonafide hit.
The film dipped more than 60 percent in North America over the holiday weekend, but bean counters cannot help but recognize the "Transformers" series as a franchise with unbelievable potential for years to come. Between the box office, the toys and all of the other tie-ins, it could be sooner than later that a fifth film is announced.
