BOX OFFICE BUZZ FLICK BASED ON TOYS OF '80S REALLY DOES TRANSFORM SLUMPING SUMMER BOX OFFICE FILM HAS BIGGEST JULY 4TH GROSS IN HISTORY.

Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ

Could the name of a movie be more prophetic?

Just as the summer movie season was entering into a mini-slump, "Transformers" stormed into theaters Monday night and literally transformed the box office landscape by grossing an astounding $65.7 million -- including the biggest Fourth of July gross in history.

This big action DreamWorks/Paramount co-production has put business back on track after more than a month of lackluster ticket sales. "Transformers" took in an estimated $29.1 million on July Fourth, crushing the previous record of $21.9 million set in 2004 by "Spider-Man 2." That followed a record Tuesday gross of $27.9 million and $8.7 million from Monday night showings.

THE PERFECT DATE: I goofed on the studio a little bit last week for changing the date for the "Transformers" debut more than once. I mean, driving down Highland Avenue into Hollywood, I can still look up and see a giant billboard advertising a July Fourth release date. It had been pushed up a day in recent weeks, and then just last week, we learned of the plan for a Monday night roll-out.

Now, the studio distribution folks at Paramount look like absolute geniuses!

MIGHTY RAT: When I talked to Disney's distribution head, Chuck Viane, on Sunday, he seemed surprisingly unconcerned that "Ratatouille," the latest Pixar Animation title, had a softer-than-expected bow of $47 million.

"It sounds cliche, but in the summer, every day is like a Saturday," Viane said, as upbeat as ever.

He was so right.

Since the weekend, "Ratatouille" has been pulling in very strong midweek business, taking in $7.5 million on Monday, $7.85 million on Tuesday, and $10.2 million on July Fourth. This gives the movie a solid $72.5 million haul (that's not counting Thursday figures) as it heads into its second weekend.

LICENSE TO FLOP: Warner Bros. is trying a bit of counterprogramming to action flicks with the Robin Williams comedy "License to Wed," which hit theaters on Tuesday. Even though Williams' comedy "RV" grossed a solid $71.7 million last summer, "Licensed" has opened with a thud: $5.2 million over two days.

Reviews have not been kind so I don't think "License" is going to gain from any positive word- of-mouth. It's got to make its money upfront in its first week.

STATUS REPORT: So where are we so far this summer?

After a record-setting month of May with the triple blockbuster threat of "Spider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (all three have grossed near or above $300 million-plus domestically), it seemed we were on our way to a major gutting of the record books with attendance ahead of 2006 totals by 2.35 percent and revenue up by 6 percent, according to box office tracker Media By Numbers.

But June mostly brought movies that opened below expectations or quickly dropped in audience after a big debut. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" and "Ocean's Thirteen" may have crossed the $100 million mark domestically, but they have clearly lost steam and don't figure to add much to their totals of $118.6 million ("Fantastic") and $104.9 million ("Ocean's").

The comedy "Knocked Up" has been a bright spot, with a gross of $125.8 million and strong week-to-week audience retention, but it was far cheaper to make than the other Universal Pictures summer comedy "Evan Almighty" with its production budget of $175 million and paltry domestic gross of $67.9 million so far.

As of Sunday, year-to-year attendance had fallen behind 2006 by less than 1 percent while the revenue lead had shrunk to 5 percent.

FLOP SWEATS: Most notably, "A Mighty Heart," which failed to attract an audience despite good reviews and an acclaimed performance by Angelina Jolie. But it had an inexpensive production budget and could still turn a profit. The poker romance flick "Lucky You" has to be the summer's biggest bomb, while other misses include: "Nancy Drew," "Hostel: Part 2" and "28 Weeks Later."

FUTURE HITS: "Transformers" will be seen as the movie that not only snapped the box office out of a five-week lull but also as the hit that began a string of other successes. Of course, next up is a sure-fire blockbuster: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix" out Wednesday. Looking further ahead to late July and early August, I see the Adam Sandler comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," the musical "Hairspray" and the comedy sequel "Rush Hour 3" joining the $100 million club, while "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Simpsons Movie" could approach or surpass $200 million domestically.

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Autobot Ironhide does battle with the destructive Decepticons in DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures' "Transformers." The film, which opened Monday, grossed an astounding $65.7 million during its first three days.

(2 -- 3 -- color) no caption (Transformers movie)

Courtesy DreamWorks LLC/Paramount/MCT