The final box office fate of Paramount/Hasbro's animated film "Transformers One" was never going to be written on opening weekend. But after a soft $25 million domestic start, now it's up in the air whether this origin tale for Optimus Prime and Megatron will strike a chord with moviegoers who aren't already fans of the '80s franchise.

The Paramount and Hasbro Entertainment movie had been expected to easily top the domestic chart with $30 million or more. Instead, it came in at $25 million.

The Tim Burton legacy sequel to his 1988 horror comedy topped the North American box office charts for the third straight weekend with $26 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.