'Transformers' narrowly beats 'ice Age' on Thursday

Who will win the holiday weekend?

By Gregory Ellwood Friday, Jul 3, 2009 2:00 PM

Optimus Prime and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" took out "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" on Thursday.

Credit: Paramount Pictures

The battle for the July 4 weekend may turn out to be one of the closest contest in years.

After "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" had a strong opening on Wednesday and knocked "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" out of the top spot for the first time, the Michael Bay blockbuster made a comeback on Thursday. The robot extravaganza pulled in $11.5 million while "Ice Age" grossed $11.1 million. The third sequel in the animated franchise has grossed a stellar $24.9 million in its first two days. "Revenge of the Fallen" has already hit $250.9 million in only 9 days.

Coming in third was Michael Mann's "Public Enemies." The Johnny Depp/Christian Bale thriller did a satisfactory $6.6 million for a two day cume of $14.8 million and is looking at anywhere between $35-40 million for the five days.

"Ice Age" and "Revenge of the Fallen" will continue to duke it out with either grossing between $65-70 million over the holiday weekend.

Look for more box office details on HitFix throughout the weekend.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.