Transformers 3 crushes opposition in UK

Paramount’s global hit Transformers: Dark Of The Moon opened on a franchise-high £10.7m from 521 screens at a colossal £20,592 screen average in the UK, with £4.2m coming from 506 previews.

Including its previews Dark Of The Moon scored better openings than the 2007 original which made £8.7m from 456 sites and Revenge Of The Fallen which grossed £8.3m from 516 sites in 2009 .

The latest in the consistently impressive franchise is director Michael Bay’s fifth film to open over £3m in the UK.

Universal’s popular comedy Bridesmaids was the only other film to gross over £1m in the market, taking a decent £2m from 495 screens (for £7.9m) at an average of £4,055 during its holdover weekend.

At -43% Bridesmaids saw the smallest week-on-week decline among a top ten which suffered from the 12A rating afforded to Transformers, good weather and the Wimbledon tennis finals which netted peak figures of 8.7m on Saturday and 4.8m on Sunday.

Optimum’s fifth-placed rom-com Larry Crowne debuted on only £346,486 from 378 screens at a screen average of £917.

The film represented the worst opening for a Julia Roberts vehicle in the UK since 1996’s Something To Talk About and Mary Reilly.

UTV’s tenth-placed crime-comedy Delhi Belly was the week’s only other top-ten entry, taking £155,211  from 50 screens at an average of £3,104.

There were also top 15 openings for Artificial Eye’s Golden Bear winner A Separation, which made £55,511, and B4U’s Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap, which took £43,203.

The weekend before the latest Harry Potter is the quietest of the summer with no saturation releases and the only wide release coming from Palme d’Or winner The Tree Of Life. Jack Goes Boating, Film Socialisme, The Guard and Princess Of Montpensier are among those to get limited debuts.