The two best Transformers animated series were made. In 1986, a Transformers animated movie was even released. However, The Transformers: The Movie was unfortunately a box office disappointment, suggesting that the franchise was best suited for television. While this was the belief for many years, everything changed for the franchise in 2007 when the first live-action Transformers movie was released.
Michael Bay's first Transformers movie ushered in a new era for the Transformers movies, which were all very successful at the box office. Even though Bay stopped directing films in the franchise after 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight, several more Transformers movies have been released since, such as Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and the animated Transformers One. Bumblebee and Transformers One, in particular, are actually the two best modern Transformers films.
Bumblebee And Transformers One Are The Best Modern Transformers Movies
Bumblebee & Transformers One Are The Highest-Rated Transformers Films
While some people consider the 1986 animated film to be the best movie in the franchise, it is definitely not a modern Transformers film. Therefore, I am only considering movies that were released after the 2007 film in this article. With that being said, I think it's clear that 2018's Bumblebee and 2024's Transformers One are the two best modern Transformers films.
Every Transformers Movie |
Worldwide Box Office |
RT Critics Score |
|---|---|---|
The Transformers: The Movie (1986) |
$5,849,647 |
62% |
Transformers (2007) |
$708,272,592 |
57% |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) |
$836,519,699 |
19% |
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) |
$1,123,794,079 |
35% |
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) |
$1,104,054,072 |
18% |
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) |
$602,893,340 |
16% |
Bumblebee (2018) |
$464,731,819 |
91% |
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) |
$439,241,749 |
51% |
Transformers One (2024) |
$128,317,666 |
89% |
Bumblebee is set in 1987, before Bay's movies, and follows the titular Autobot, who is scared and on the run in a small California beach town. Luckily, Bumblebee forms a close bond with Charlie, one of the town's residents. Meanwhile, Transformers One is not connected to the live-action films and returns the franchise to its animated roots. Transformers One follows a young Optimus Prime and Megatron on the planet Cybertron before their friendship falls apart.
As seen in the above table, Rotten Tomatoes backs up my claim that Bumblebee and Transformers One are the two best modern Transformers films. Bumblebee has a score of 91% on the review aggregator website, while Transformers One has an 89% (via Rotten Tomatoes). Not including the 1986 animated film, the next highest rating for a Transformers film is 57%. Therefore, these ratings prove that Bumblebee and Transformers One are significantly better films than any other modern movies in the franchise.
Bumblebee And Transformers One Are Also 2 Of The Franchise’s Lowest-Grossing Films
Bumblebee & Transformers One Did Not Make As Much Money As Bay's Movies
Despite their high ratings, Bumblebee and Transformers One are two of the lowest-grossing movies in the long-running franchise. Bumblebee, which came out just a year after Bay's last film in the franchise, made $464 million at the worldwide box office, while Transformers One made just $128 million (via The Numbers). While Bumblebee made slightly more than 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, it did not make nearly as much as any of the Transformers movies directed by Bay.
I Have To it It, Michael Bay’s Transformers Movies Changed The Franchise For The Better In 1 Big Way
The Transformers franchise has had many highs and lows over the years, but Michael Bay's movies changed the group dynamics for the better.
Bumblebee and Transformers One's underwhelming box office earnings suggest that audiences aren't as interested in Transformers movies that are not directed by Bay. Even though Bay was a producer on Bumblebee and the film received very positive reviews, it was not enough to convince people to watch it in theaters. Similarly, Transformers One's amazing ratings did not prevent it from being a box office disappointment. This is a shame, since I would love to get a sequel to Transformers One in the coming years.
Only One Specific Type Of Transformers Movie Has Found Great Success At The Box Office
Michael Bay's Transformers Movies Were All Box Office Successes
To put the box office hauls of Bumblebee and Transformers One into perspective, the highest-grossing Bay Transformers movie made over $1.1 billion, and his lowest-grossing film in the franchise still made a respectable $602 million. These numbers prove that the only Transformers movies that have found significant success at the box office are the ones directed by Bay.
Things could turn around for the franchise with the next movie, especially since it will supposedly be a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover film.
Because of this, some fans have asked for Bay to return to the Transformers franchise. Meanwhile, other fans want him to stay away, since his films did not receive the best critical ratings. In my opinion, it's unlikely that Bay would return to the franchise, since he has already directed five Transformers films. Additionally, things could turn around for the franchise with the next movie, especially since it will supposedly be a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover film. Therefore, hopefully a future film in the Transformers franchise can achieve critical ratings as impressive as Bumblebee's and Transformers One's.
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