Transformers is now biggest movie of year

Transformers becomes biggest movie of year. The Michael Bay spectacle racked up $47 million, according to studio estimates from box-office trackers Hollywood.com.

"Horrible Bosses" finished second with $28 million, joining "Bad Teacher," "Bridesmaids" and Hangover 2" as the fourth consecutive R-rated comedy to exceed expectations. Because "Horrible Bosses" only cost a modest $35 million to produce, it's safe to call it a hit.

Not so for "The Zookeeper," the PG-rated Kevin James comedy that finished third with $21 milion. The CGI talking-animal effects drove the cost of the project to $80 million, so somebody at Sony is feeling sheepish for moving the film from Fall 2010 to a prime location in mid Summer 2011.

The encore was largely expected as the 3-D picture became just the fourth movie of the year to reach $200 million. The film has earned $261 million in two weeks, surpassing The Hangover PartII's $250.8 million as the biggest movie of 2011.

The film probably will hold the crown "until a certain teen wizard arrives" Friday in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, says Gitesh Pandya of BoxOfficeGuru.com.

Bosses earned recommendations from 73% of the nation's critics, according to the movie review site Rottentomatoes.com.

"It's been a terrific summer for R-rated comedies," says Pandya, noting that Hangover, Bridesmaids and Bad Teacher have done more than $450 million this season.

Cars 2 was fourth with $15.2 million, followed by Bad Teacher's $9 million. Final figures will be released today.

Despite Transformers' muscle, summer ticket sales continue to nose-dive, falling behind the same weekend last year for the fourth time in five weeks. Attendance also has dropped behind 2010's summer pace, down about 3% from the same time last summer, Hollywood.com says.

In other box office news, Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" remained in the Top Ten for a 10th consecutive week, and with $40 million under the mattress, it is poised to pass "Hannah and Her Sisters" as Allen's top-grossing film (albeit not adjusted for inflation). They're smiling in jazz heaven.