Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The poster depicts Optimus Prime, standing with a blade in his left arm, and a rifle in his right arm. There is also a young couple standing below the Transformer, and just where the 3 are standing, there is also a crash-landed Decepticon fighter. Behind the Transformer and the couple, there is a war-torn city of Chicago, with Decepticon battleships surrounding it. The film title and credits are on the bottom of the poster.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Bay
Written byEhren Kruger
Based onTransformers
by Hasbro
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAmir Mokri
Edited by
Music bySteve Jablonsky
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • June 23, 2011 (2011-06-23) (MIFF[1])
  • June 29, 2011 (2011-06-29) (United States[2][3])
Running time
154 minutes[4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$195 million[5][6]
Box office$1.124 billion[7]

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a 2011 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line. The film is the third installment in the Transformers film series and the sequel to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009). The film is directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Malkovich, and Frances McDormand. Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Sam Witwicky must lead the Autobots against Megatron and the Decepticons as they battle to possess powerful technology abandoned on the Moon, in order to restore Cybertron.

The film employed both regular 35 mm film cameras and specially-developed 3D cameras, with filming locations in Chicago, Florida, Indiana, Milwaukee, Moscow, and Washington, D.C. The film was 3D rendered specifically for 3-D, and the visual effects involved more complex robots which took longer to render. Dark of the Moon's release date was moved from July 1 to June 29, in order to monitor an early response to footage.

Exclusive early premieres took place on June 28, 2011, one night before worldwide release. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was praised for the score, visual effects, cast and voice performances, and use of 3D, however it was criticized for its screenplay, tonal shifts, and runtime.[8] Dark of the Moon grossed $1.124 billion worldwide, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film in history at the time, the second highest-grossing film of 2011, and the highest-grossing film in the franchise to date. Like the first film, it was nominated for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards. It was followed by Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Premiere was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Global sites & Release Dates". Paramount Pictures. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  3. ^ Labrecque, Jeff. "'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' gets new release date". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  4. ^ "Transformers – Dark Of The Moon". BBFC. June 21, 2011. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fernandez was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  7. ^ "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference tomatoes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).