Transformers (film)

This article is about the 2007 live action film. For the 1986 animated film, see The Transformers: The Movie.

Transformers
Three robot faces with the edge of the earth as background. Below, three humans in front of a city scape at sunset.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Bay
Screenplay by
Story by
Based onHasbro's Transformers action figures
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMitchell Amundsen
Edited by
Music bySteve Jablonsky
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • June 10, 2007 (2007-06-10) (N Seoul Tower)
  • July 3, 2007 (2007-07-03) (United States)
Running time
143 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$145–200 million[3][4][5]
Box office$709.7 million[6]

Transformers is a 2007 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's toy line of the same name. It is the first installment in the Transformers film series. The film is directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager who gets caught up in a war between the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two factions of alien robots. The Autobots intend to retrieve and use the AllSpark, the powerful artifact that created their robotic race that is on Earth, to rebuild their home planet Cybertron and end the war, while the Decepticons have the intention of using it to build an army by giving life to the machines of Earth. Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Megan Fox, Rachael Taylor, John Turturro, and Jon Voight also star, while Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving voice Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively.

Don Murphy was initially interested in developing a G.I. Joe film, but then decided to develop a Transformers film after the United States went to war against Iraq in 2003. Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the project in 2003, and DeSanto wrote a treatment. Steven Spielberg came on board as executive producer the following year, hiring Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to write the screenplay. The U.S. Armed Forces and General Motors loaned vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes. Hasbro's promotional campaign for the film included deals with various companies; advertising included a viral marketing campaign, coordinated releases of prequel comic books, toys, and books, as well as product placement deals with companies such as General Motors, Burger King, and eBay.

Transformers premiered on June 10, 2007, at the N Seoul Tower in Seoul, and was released on July 3 in the United States, by Paramount Pictures. The film became the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2007, grossing $709.7 million worldwide, with an estimated 46 million tickets sold in the United States. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise for the action sequences, visual effects, and sound design, but criticism of the screen time for certain characters and use of product placement. The film won four awards from the Visual Effects Society and was nominated for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects at the 80th Academy Awards.

It was followed by seven further films: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Dark of the Moon (2011), Age of Extinction (2014), The Last Knight (2017), Bumblebee (2018), Rise of the Beasts (2023), and Transformers One (2024).

  1. ^ a b c d e "Transformers (2007) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  2. ^ "Transformers". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Weintraub was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Bob Tourtellotte (July 1, 2007). ""Transformers" film yields big bang on fewer bucks". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2010. But the producers of "Transformers", Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce, say they have spent only $150 million on "Transformers", and they reckon they got a bargain.
  5. ^ Alex Chadwick; Kim Masters (April 30, 2007). "'Spider-Man 3': Why So Expensive?". NPR. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference boxmojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).