Transformer

Initially, fans were divided over the film due to the radical redesigns of many characters Michael Bay even received death threats Nonetheless, the film began to draw in many new fans to the franchise. The 2007 BotCon saw its attendance rise from 2,200 to nearly 8,000.

Transformers had its worldwide premiere at Sydney on June 12, 2007. It premiered at Sitges during the annual Film Festival on June 20, 2007 and in Taormina the following day. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 27 via digital satellite feed,and in Rhode Island on June 28. The Rhode Island premiere was a freely available event offering fans to buy tickets for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, the Adoption Rhode Island, and the Hasbro Children's Hospital.

Box office performance
The film was released in ten overseas markets on June 28, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines. Transformers made $29.5 million in its first weekend, topping the box office in ten countries including a $1.7 million four-day weekend gross in Singapore, the biggest yet. The film was released in the United States and Canada on July 3, with 8pm preview screenings on July 2. The previews earned $8.8 million, and in its first day of general release it grossed $27.4 million, a record for Tuesday box office attendance. It broke Spider-Man 2's record for the biggest July 4 gross, making $29 million.

In its first weekend, Transformers grossed $70.5 million, amounting to a $155.4 million opening week, giving it the record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel. The opening domestic gross was 50% more than what Paramount Pictures expected, with one executive attributing it to word of mouth telling "parents that it's OK to take the kids." A Cinemascope poll indicated the film was most popular with children and parents, including older women, and attracted many African American and Latino viewers. Transformers opened in China on July 11, setting a record for the biggest foreign language film opening with $3 million. The film has grossed $233 million in the home country of the United States and $380 million worldwide. The film will be released in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on July 27.

Critical reception

Transformers was met with mixed reviews from film critics, receiving a "rotten" rating of only 57% favorable reviews out of 175 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Metacritic score of 60/100 (mixed or average) from 34 reviews. IGN's Todd Gilchrist found it Michael Bay's best film, and "one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably also a whole lot of fun." The Advertiser's Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artifical intelligence". The Denver Post's Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy" and ABC presenter Margaret Pomeranz was surprised "that a complete newcomer to the Transformers phenomenon like myself became involved in the fate of these mega-machines". Ain't It Cool News's Drew McWeeny felt most of the cast grounded the story, and that "it has a real sense of wonder, one of the things that’s missing from so much of the big CGI lightshows released these days." Author Peter David found it ludricrous fun, and that "[Bay] manages to hold on to his audience's suspension of disbelief long enough for us to segue into some truly spectacular battle scenes."

Despite the praise for the visual effects, there was much division over the human storylines. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt liked "how a teen plot line gets tied in to the end of the world", while Empire's Ian Nathan praised Shia LaBeouf as "a smart, natural comedian, levels the bluntness of this toy story with an ironic bluste Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles found the military storylines distracting from Sam, a conflict of Bay and Steven Spielberg's styles. James Berardinelli hated the film as he did not connect with the characters in-between the action, which he found tedious. Los Angeles Times's Kenneth Turan found the humans "oddly lifeless, doing little besides marking time until those big toys fill the screen", while Comingsoon.net's Joshua Stames felt the Transformers were "completely believable, right up to the moment they open their mouths to talk, when they revert to bad cartoon characters."Daily Herald's Matt Arado was annoyed that "the Transformers [are] little more than supporting players", and felt the middle act was sluggish. CNN's Tom Charity questioned the idea of a film based on a toy, and felt it would "buzz its youthful demographic... but leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower."
Awards

Before its release, Transformers was voted "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. Transformers was nominated for nine Teen Choice Awards for Best Action Adventure, Movie Actor: Action Adventure - Shia LaBeouf, Movie Actress: Action Adventure - Megan Fox, Movie: Villain: Megatron, Movie: Liplock - Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf, Movie: Breakout Female - Megan Fox, Movie: Rumble - Captain Lennox vs. Blackout, Movie: Breakout Male - Shia LaBeouf for A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Disturbia, Transformers, Movie: Chemistry - Shia LaBeouf and Bumblebee, and Female Hottie - Megan Fox.
Sequels

On May 30, 2007, DreamWorks greenlit two sequels to Transformers. Shia LaBeouf Megan Fo and Peter Cullen are signed on to return. Producer Tom DeSanto has envisioned a storyline introducing the Dinobots, Constructicons, and Soundwave. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman may not return, as "the next Star Trek is taking up most of our time. Michael Bay has not signed on, "trying to keep some leverage for the negotiations," but already has ideas, including an aircraft carrier character. The producers expect that with a bigger budget and the special effects worked out, the Transformers will have a larger role