It's rrally not proof that a CU necessarily works considering that this isn't the first time Godzilla has brawled with Kong. How much of it is the CU working and how much of it is an expected pairing by kaiju fans is hard to tell at this point.

 

TLK was one of the biggest flops of all time and almost undid the profits from all the films before it, so for Bumblebee to make a profit at all is good news for the direction Paramount will choose to follow for this franchise. Plus, Bumblebee cost a lot less, especially if you consider that the budgets they announced for all five Bayverse films are severely deflated from what they actually cost.

 

Yeah, it was, but it's easy to forget that leading up to TLK, Paramount has been having a horrid year of flop after flop. TLK wasn't just important for the franchise...it was important for the whole damn studio. TLK wasn't the cause of death per say, it was the final nail in the coffin. Transformers was historically a money maker, so Paramount was betting on TLK to make money and...it didn't.

 

Hey guys I just saw this article from Seibertron, it confirms Hasbro is working with Paramount to make new Transformers films.

 

Two movies that follow on from one another does not a cinematic universe make. It does make a very good and simple film series which before Marvel decided to sit its massive brass balls on the table, was the regular bread and butter of films. Hell I think it was the one-two punches of The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings that suddenly turned everyone onto trilogies in a big way.

 

Agreed. . .I can't stand this whole let's jump on the bandwagon/moneytrain mentality. . .

 

So... is it just me or did Box office mojo just abruptly decided that Bumblebee had ran it's course? Even though it still has to come out in Japan?

 

I think if they put someone who loves these characters and knows the history of the series from the cartoons to the original and recent comics we can actually have a chance at getting good films. Building the characters and have them have real personalities and interactions, not only fight scenes. Thats what makes the marvel movies good to watch because the characters have been built up and you feel as if you know them. Bumblebee is a step in the right direction and if they can make a trilogy out of it fine and if they cant too bad.

I just feel the mainstream audiences have grown tired of transformers and in their minds its “if you have seen one transformers movie you have seen them all”, and they arent aware that the bay movies do not represent transformers at all. There is more to it than that but like any franchise people get tired of them. As successful as the mcu is it is possible that in 10-15 years people might get tired of them and the movies start flopping. What has kept them revelant is its cohesive while every character and their films have different styles and also the thanos storyline which had been hinted at since avengers, so its like a series or chapters and people want to find out what happens next. The next few years after the thanos story is concluded will be crucial since they have to come up with another arc as interesting as this one has been and if its not people will tune out. I think for transformers they have to take it one movie at a time while making sure the next chapter makes sense and doesnt contradict the past one. I personally think the bumblebee movie should be a reboot and the fact we didnt see megatron is because he was somewhere else in the cybertron scenes. This keeps the momentum and builds mystique around him since we didnt get to see him in the first movie like palpatine. Just ignore the bay films and continue with a good storyline but i know most fans wish there was a 2 hour movie only on cybertron which is too late now. If warner can retcon certain things with aquaman and move away from the shared universe and ignore things that were established previously while still having a successfull movie i believe transformers can do the same thing.

 

Do we have any numbers for Japan yet?

 

With the domestic 2018 all wrapped I thought hey let's see where Bumblebee falls on the charts. It finished in 25th place with $127 million domestically. Which would be fantastic if it had stuck to the original production estimate but Box Office Mojo is saying the production budget was $135 million. So it needed that $332 million from the rest of the world to make it a profitable movie.

Kind of seems like Bumblebee sort of fell into that muddled waters range. Enough box office that it was not a failure, but it didn't really light up the box office either so you could say it was a run away success. While the lower production cost and less marketing helped in the profitability department it still ended up in last place on the box office chart for the live action Transformers movies. Perhaps a strong showing in the home entertainment market will help change opinions about the live action movies but you have to wonder if Bumblebee really turned the ship around or if the franchise will continue to struggle in it's attempt to climb back up the domestic and international charts.

 

They did it to themselves. Bumblebee is proof that they had the formula to be successful on all fronts, critically, fans/audience-wise, and financially but they blew it. For far too long, and now, when the only really good one comes out, it's considered a disaster because the previous film did so much damage from them doing anything BUT the formula that works.

Though, I'm a fair person... Would Bumblebee be as successful as it has been because it's genuinely that much better than the previous films or is it that the others set the bar SO low that this is considered a masterpiece by comparison?

Crack that nut and we might get an accurate answer. Until the next two movies come along, using both formulas (the TLK sequel and the Bumblebee sequel doing their own things) and we see where the dust settles, I don't think we'll have anything closer to an answer, sadly.

 

I vote for this

 

TLK sequel is not happening, according to Di Bonaventura.
And I watched every movie about a week before BB came out and there's no denying that BB is better than anything before it. The reason I don't think it did so well domestically is basically the stigma of Bay. Why? Because I had many non-TF friends who were under the impression that BB was directed by Bay and thus didn't want to see it up until the very end. Michael Bay's reputation goes beyond TF fans. I think the reason this happened was that they didn't market that Bay was not directing hard enough.

 

I think Paramount genuinely thinks Micheal Bay's name is a draw, rather than actively pushing audiences away.

 

Still happening.
Keep in mind, when he's being asked these things compared to when a final decision and script is made, are vastly different things.
Right now, what he's saying is how going through ideas and trying to find and shape the best script forward. Tangents are being looked at, other concepts. Where to approach, how to best move forward to gain an audience.

Until a final script is written, and filming begins, no options are off the table as yet. But depending on when asked is when whatever was most recently discussed is fresh in mind.

When you're a producer you deal with a lot of story pitches, a lot of details, a lot of everything across many franchises. So always take with some caution because all you're hearing is essentially a tiny fragment of the conversations they are in. And only the fragments that have been filtered through sign offs as okay to say.

So sit back, relax, and wait until something solid is ready. Because nothing is solid until the script has reached shooting script stage and filming is set to begin.
Japan's numbers won't be in until Sunday night or so. And even then, that doesn't factor in home media and merchandise/licensing, which those numbers we won't see publicly generally at all. It's already categorized as a success, and future projects with the brand are underway.

So do take comfort in more movies(plural) are coming. Both forward and prequel, and exploring more of the wider brand as available. Other spin-offs are being looked at, and full tangents are being eyed.

A lot of misinformation, bad quotes, conjecture, and putting words in people's mouths is happening. People need to calm down, take a breather, and remember these are movies being made by other people, and paid for by other people. What's being done, or being made is left in the hands of those that sign those checks, or okay the stamping of their name on the checks.

Let's not bow to tabloid style conjecture and be misguided by misinformation, and bad reporting, or manipulated by propaganda. Wait until there's something solid ready to be presented. And until then, enjoy the toys and other media.

Right now, the biggest concern is keeping budget within reason.

Alita was close to 170 million. Lion King is projected at over 250 million. Effects budgets right now are fluctuating due to cost factors across the board that need to be looked into to streamline and keep things reasonable to give the kind of stories that want to be told, and fans may want to see. Don't rush it. A good movie isn't conceptualized in a day. (Oh the irony of saying that in a thread about Bumblebee's solo movie, but I digress.)

So ignore the doom and gloom. Don't jump to conclusions. Don't inject false narratives or conjecture. Wait for something solid to be ready. And take the cues being mentioned as hints of what's to come. Heart, a love story, high visual action. But inherent humanity of the characters. Transformers as characters in their own movie. Etc.

 

Oh lol seriously?

You're telling me Lorenzo says the TLK sequel is happening (which in of itself is laughable because that film nearly destroyed Paramount and a sequel would destroy it, a blind person could see that!), but then suddenly after a bunch of stuff comes out of his mouth, he does a total 180 by finally saying Bumblebee is a reboot and then mysteriously shuts up?

It's obvious Hasbro/Paramount had to get the man to say the reboot had happened and then put tape on his mouth for damage control. You've never proven you're actually knowledgeable about anything with the films, and the fact Hasbro declared Bumblebee as the start of a new storytelling continuity goes against what you were talking about leading up to February's toyfair, so I still don't believe a word you say.

 

I'm not projecting false information? Di Bonaventura cleared things up after the mistranslated "TLK sequel" post from Japan got shared around, correct? I do think Bayverse is going to be dead in the water at least for a little while because I'm pretty sure if they're still crafting which direction to go with they're seeing the backlash even mentioning the old line of TF movies are getting. I'm not saying it's impossible but I'd be surprised if TF6 happens anytime soon, if at all. I've mentioned this before but I would like to see TF6 in Novel or Comic form.

 

I'm not saying you. I'm saying in general. Wait for something solid to form. Let's not rush into whatever the next movie is with false expectations. Production side deals with a lot of juggling stuff from all over. And is more detailed than people realize, and covers vaster areas than people realize.

And the "backlash" isn't anything people really think it is. That's nearly all hyperbole and spin. Outside areas pushing what essentially amounts to propaganda. And I really don't care about that stuff. It's annoying and all faux induced outrage and "*gasp* omg" stuff for reactions.

Yeah, I think I'd be in a place to know this. I long ago got bored by all that and how quickly gullible people fall for it, or jump to conclusions, we've seen it too many times as it is with Venom, and other things between movies and comics where people spin cycle themselves dizzy, and then whatever ends up being fine or even praised.

And it'd be TF7. TF6's production/marketing was Bumblebee as a prequel. The movies are marked oddly like that. Where Bumblebee is considered movie 6, so the next one would be movie 7.

Though title-wise, it's the 6th of the original movie order lineup. This upcoming one is officially movie 7. Production codes go by order of being made.

Like I explained before, when producing something. You go through a lot of concept material exploring options, what's true one day is different the next until a final decision is made, and full development goes underway to create the movie. You start exploring an option for sequel, get enamored by a different concept and want to explore that, then come to how it all fits together, get enamored by a different idea that works better for a sequel then go to that. And so on. It's not as clear cut as people think. Creative processes rarely are.

It's not that Dibonaventura is lying or telling you wrong things, it's that when he's being spoken to is different points of production cycles and options exploring. That until it all manifests into one shooting script, it's all the options being looked at and potential being explored. Which is common for any movie that's not a direct adaptation of a pre-existing work. Even Marvel movies go through this kind of bounce around, as do their series.

So take a deep breath, strap yourself in, and wait until the ride comes to a complete stop before climbing out and jumping to conclusion. You'll get injured otherwise. Metaphorically speaking of course. That's an amusement park metaphor. And that's what films basically are. Let's not go all zealotry over this stuff. The process is too fluid for that and it hinders art by attempting to force its hand.

And headline people that try to stir up hate, or create contempt, are more or less only trying to manipulate you or "stir the pot" as the phrase goes. Typically, they're always full of it and have no merit. Intentionally feeding into the ego areas for click bait. Preying on the fact you don't know anything about the process itself, or in many cases they don't themselves.

So relax and take a deep breath and wait until something solid forms, you might be pleasantly surprised by what's taken shape.

 

Haven't you gotten in trouble a few times already for being caught with false info?

 

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