South Africa’s box office: unTransformed

It’s blockbuster season and every week is bringing in a new number one for South Africa to feast its eyes on. This week’s tribute was Transformers: The Last Knight — Michael Bay’s (hopefully) last go at the franchise that had critics wishing Optimus Prime would just end the world already. But which other blocks got busted this week? (23 to 25 June)

The answer: Pretty much none of them.

Transformers nudged the top six all down one in a truly undramatic fashion. Cars 3 was ousted from first; Wonder Woman dropped to third. The Mummy, Baywatch, Rough Night and Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge saw themselves placing between fourth and seventh respectively.

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 making its exit from SA cinema, Pirates was able to pick up the highest life-to-date gross with just under R20-million in sales.

But there was some big budget respite on screen, too.

Anyone who wanted to see a cute, quiet movie about teenage love and angst had one port of call this week, and newcomer Everything, Everything (review) relished the attention. The film debuted at eighth, which is respectable for a teen romance despite the lack of competition.

Gifted, the family drama starring Chris Evans, Jenny Slate and Octavia Spencer, saw itself rise above tenth spot for the first time since it debuted two weekends ago on 9 June. The film — which seems like a heartfelt combination of Matilda and Big Daddy — has had a warm reception critically.

Finally, The Promise debuted in tenth spot this week. The film opened to lackluster reviews and a disappointing box office, pulling in around US$10-million worldwide on its US$90-million production budget. But the producers say they weren’t in it for profit, and rather intended to shine a light on the Armenian genocide. They assert that any proceeds from the film will be donated to The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law.

Here are ten most-watched movies in SA this past weekend:

1. Transformers: The Last Knight
2. Cars 3 (Incl. 3D)
3. Wonder Woman (Incl. 3D & Imax)
4. The Mummy (Incl. Imax)
5. Baywatch
6. Rough Night
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (Incl. 3D, IMAX & 4DX)
8. Everything, Everything
9. Gifted
10. The Promise

The above list was provided by Ster Kinekor Entertainment.