A 40-year-old animated movie, based on the popular Transformers cartoon of the same era, took in an estimated $3,103,922 this weekend and finished 8th in North America, according to Box Office Mojo. Add Thursday's actual $1,052,609 and the four-day total for The Transformers: The Movie works out to an estimated $4,156,531.
The original theatrical run made $5,849,647 domestic, with a $1,779,559 opening weekend. So four days of the 40th anniversary re-release is about 71% of everything the movie earned in America the first time around, and the estimated weekend beat that 1986 opening by roughly 74%!
Note that those are unadjusted figures. Tickets cost a fraction of what they do now, so in real terms, and the power of the dollar in 2026, the original release made more. The percentages are my own calculations based off of the Box Office Mojo figures, and the weekend numbers are based off of estimates from Sunday.
The re-release opened against Resident Evil, which did an estimated $60 million, and it Transfomers STILL made it into the top ten for the weekend!
Check out the trailer for the 40th anniversary theatrical re-release below:
For those that may have missed it, Fathom Entertainment is behind the re-relase, along side Hasbro. It's a new 4K restoration of the 85-minute film, is rated PG, and is showing on 1,454 North American screens with 4DX in select markets. It opened on Thursday, September 17th, to celebrate Transformers Day.
As for tickets, Fathom's own page lists the run through Tuesday the 22nd. A lot of theaters still have Wednesday showtimes up, and a few go past that, so check what's playing near you before it leaves theaters. Tickets are up on Fandango.
On disc, Shout has a 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook 4K up for pre-order that releases November 17th with Dolby Vision and Atmos, running around $50 on Amazon. Nobody has confirmed the new short is on that disc, so I wouldn't recommend buying it just for that. And if you want the making-of on paper, Chris Prince's The Transformers: The Movie: The Ultimate Visual History hardcover is up for pre-order too!
If November feels too far away, the 35th Anniversary Blu-ray is in print. And the Vince DiCola soundtrack, the one with Stan Bush's "The Touch" on it, is still around too.
Hasbro is running the whole thing under a banner they're calling The Apology Tour, which is the company apologizing, 40 years late, for killing Optimus Prime in front of a theater full of children.
The screenings come with Optimus Prime: Awakening, a brand new 12-minute CG short that runs after the credits. Fathom is billing it as a tribute to Cullen and to the fans. It carries Peter Cullen's last original performance as Optimus Prime, with Frank Welker back as Megatron and Soundwave. We covered the short when it was announced, and we ran the news of Cullen's passing on August 27th. He died at home in Los Angeles on August 26th, at 85.
Cullen's name is missing from the campaign itself. Fathom's release page, the 40th anniversary hub and the July 24th tickets announcement don't mention him, and the May announcement lists him only in the cast rundown.
All of that was written and posted before his passing on August 26th, which explains it. Hasbro did mark it on the day of release, with licensing and entertainment president Kim Boyd saying Cullen "showed generations of fans that strength and gentleness can exist together." Frank Welker shared: "I will miss my friend, but that voice and his heart and values will always be part of Optimus Prime."
This movie is one of my favorite memories growing up as a kid in the 80s. My brothers and I literally wore out the VHS tape re-watching it over and over!
It has even more meaning now that I'm older, had the opportunity to visit with and interview Peter Cullen back in 2014, and his passing. His lines from the film carry even more weight now and hit especially hard to this kid who's now in his 50s and in many ways has refused to grow up. You can check out that interview below!
Some of the most memorable lines:
The duel at Autobot City. Prime opens with "One shall stand, one shall fall." Megatron asks why he'd throw his life away so recklessly, and Prime answers, "That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron."
The deathbed scene, with the Autobots around him. Daniel is yelling "Prime, you can't die!" and Perceptor says he fears the wounds are fatal. Prime tells them, "Do not grieve. Soon I shall be one with the Matrix."
Then Robert Stack's Ultra Magnus tells him he's only a soldier, and not worthy of the Matrix. "Nor was I," Prime says. "But one day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our darkest hour."
The family has asked people to honor him by being "strong enough to be gentle."
One more piece of trivia for you: Cullen voiced Ironhide in the 1986 film as well. Ironhide dies in the opening shuttle massacre. Two of his characters killed off in the same movie!
Did you watch the film when it hit theaters back in 1986? What do you remember about the first time you saw Prime die? It was a tear jerker for me back then as a 10 year old boy, and brings even more after 40 years…
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