Final Box Office Numbers Reveal Narrow Transformers Triumph

Considering the outrage that virtually defeathered Michael Bay's hair during his most recent white-hot screed to Paramount, this afternoon's final weekend box-office tally brings a desperately needed peace to the studio and the Transformers family at large. But just how close a call was it?

Bay's first-week phenomenon Revenge of the Fallen cooled considerably against Ice Age 3, narrowly outgrossing the Fox franchise by an actual count of $42,320,877 to $41,690,382. In the end, the $630,000+ margin wasn't even close enough to rank in the top 100 of all-time photo finishes. We await the next leaked e-mail to Movieline, this one authored by frustrated Ice Age directors Carlos Saldanha and Mike Thurmeier, both wondering what it might take next time for the studio to please estimate within $800,000 of their film's actual gross -- anything to keep those anonymous, Skids-sounding callers from harassing them at home again on a Sunday night.

· July 3-5, 2009 -- Weekend [Box Office Mojo]