Mark Wahlberg's Second-Lowest-Rated Film Became a Top-Grossing Transformers Hit — Here's Why

Mark Wahlberg has made a lot of good stuff I will happily rewatch (Three Kings, The Departed, The Fighter). Transformers: The Last Knight is not on that list. It is, however, a fascinating case study in how a movie can be both wildly successful and kind of a mess at the same time.

The ratings: how low are we talking?

Wahlberg only did two Transformers movies: Age of Extinction and The Last Knight. Unfortunately for him, those two sit at the very bottom of the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes. The Last Knight is the lowest-rated Transformers film at 16% and, for Wahlberg personally, it ranks as his second-worst score ever. Only Max Payne dips lower.

• Transformers franchise Rotten Tomatoes scores (highest to lowest): Bumblebee (2018) 91%; Transformers One (2024) 89%; The Transformers: The Movie (1986) 62%; Transformers (2007) 57%; Transformers: Rise of the Beasts 51%; Transformers: Dark of the Moon 35%; Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) 19%; Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) 18%; Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) 16%.
• Mark Wahlberg's lowest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes: Mile 22 (2018) 23%; Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) 18%; The Happening (2008) 17%; Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) 16%; Max Payne (2008) 15%. Note: Penny Marshall's Renaissance Man (1994) sits at 13%, but Wahlberg only has a small role in it, which is why it is typically left out of the conversation.
• Wahlberg's biggest worldwide box office totals (per The Numbers): Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) $1,104,054,072; Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) $602,893,340; Ted (2012) $556,016,627; Uncharted (2022) $407,141,258; Planet of the Apes (2001) $362,211,740.
• The Last Knight's overseas pull: $228.8 million in China alone (per Box Office Mojo), and roughly $472–$475 million from international markets overall.

So how did The Last Knight still make over $600 million?

Short answer: the logo on the poster does a lot of the heavy lifting. The Transformers brand is a global magnet for audiences who want giant-robot spectacle, and nostalgia keeps that engine running. Add the Michael Bay–Mark Wahlberg pairing (coming off the billion-dollar Age of Extinction) and you get a very big opening act worldwide, even as reviews crater.

Critics were not gentle. The knock was basically 'explosions instead of story' — a thin, rushed plot padded with wall-to-wall effects. By the fifth go-round, the bloat really showed. Still, enough people showed up overseas to push it to $602,893,340 worldwide.

Here is the part that raises eyebrows: despite all those zeroes, reporting indicates the film was not a financial win. With a production budget around $217 million and hefty marketing and distribution costs, estimates peg Paramount's loss at roughly $100 million by the time the dust settled. It is one of those strange industry outcomes where a movie can be 'huge' at the box office and still end up in the red.

Wahlberg vs the hair

On the lighter, very human side of all this: Wahlberg really hated the hair he had to grow for Cade Yeager. He tried to pitch Michael Bay on a shaved head or at least a hooded, on-the-run vibe. Bay said no. Wahlberg's wife loved the look. He did not.

'Oh God, it's the little things. Not being able to roll down the window when you're driving in a car. It just blows in your face... I cannot putt. I gotta try to tuck it in my hat when I'm trying to make a putt and my hair is like dangling...'

He also complained that brushing his teeth made the hair tickle his nose until he sneezed, lying down yanked at it, squat-machine shoulder rests pulled it, and even foam rollers caught it. He joked that he looks at women with long hair and wonders how they make it look effortless.

The bottom line

The Last Knight is one of Wahlberg's biggest earners and one of his worst-reviewed films, which is a neat little paradox. Brand power and global appetite carried it; story and word of mouth did not. Depending on what you come to Transformers for, that probably tells you everything you need to know.

Where to watch

Transformers: The Last Knight is streaming on Paramount+.

What do you think about The Last Knight, its box office math, and yes, Cade's hair? Drop your take in the comments.