The weekend haul places the latest tale of Optimus Prime and the battle against the Decepticons ahead of the previous top-grosser, The Hangover Part II. That film has grossed $250 million to date, but is fading fast at the box office and looks unlikely to mount a challenge to retake the crown. The good news for Paramount – other than the fact that studio got a lot richer over the weekend – is that Dark of the Moon seems to be holding audience interest better than Revenge of the Fallen did. The 51% drop for the latest film is a smaller percentage loss than Revenge had in its second weekend, and the grosses for Dark of the Moon were higher as well.

 

Still, Transformers might be king of the box office for now – but it could be a short reign. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is set to open this Friday, and we suspect that film – the final outing for the popular wizard from JK Rowling’s novels – might win out over the giant robots. The Potter series has been building to this moment since 2001, and looks to be the event film of the summer-- one with crossover appeal that will bring in audiences from a wide range of demographics. No HP film to date has broken the $350 million mark domestically, but this is the end of an era. Expect it to do huge business.

 

At any rate, there’s a gigantic battle looming at the movie theater – one that probably won’t be settled for a few weeks. It’s the Autobots vs. Hogwarts. Sam Witwicky vs. Harry Potter. The forces of good against Michael Bay. Which side are you on? If you were a gambler, which of the two ponies in this race would you put your money behind? Let us know in the comment section.