Transformers 4 Age of Extinction - $41 Million On Friday Night Best of Year, Still Down From Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Age of Extinction opened to an estimated $41.6 million yesterday. That's the biggest opening day of the year so far, and sets the movie up to earn at least $100 million this weekend.

The fourth installment in the Transformers franchise opened ahead of last month's Godzilla, which previously held the 2014 opening day record with $38.4 million. Among Transformers movies, it lagged significantly behind Revenge of the Fallen ($62 million) and was a bit lower than Dark of the Moon ($43.2 million when counting day-early previews).

For the weekend, Age of Extinction is on track to earn around $105 million (Paramount is more conservatively estimating $100 million).

The movie is doing even more impressive business overseas, where it has already earned $80 million. It opened to an estimated $30 million in China, which is the biggest opening day ever for a non-Chinese movie. It has also racked up huge two-day totals in Russia ($10.4 million), South Korea ($9.1 million) and Australia ($4.6 million).