LOS ANGELES (AP):

Alien robots have transformed into box-office superstars with US$200 million in domestic ticket sales in just five days.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen took in US$112 million in the sequel's first weekend and US$201.2 million since opening last Wednesday, according to yesterday's estimates from Paramount, which is distributing the DreamWorks movie.

It was well on the way to becoming the year's top-grossing movie.

That was a few million dollars higher than other studios were expecting for the movie, and the figures could change a bit when final numbers are released today.

Still, it was a colossal start for the Transformers sequel, whose opening five days amounted to nearly two-thirds of the US$319 million domestic total the franchise's first movie did over its entire run in 2007.

Now playing in almost every other country except India, the movie added US$185.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of US$387 million. That's well over half the US$708 million global total for the first Transformers.

That first movie began with a US$70.5 million weekend. Based on how well the sequel has done, Revenge of the Fallen could join the handful of movies that have topped the US$400 million mark domestically.

"I'd say given the momentum it has, it's got a real shot," said Rob Moore, vice-chairman at Paramount.

For the first five days, the Transformers sequel was second only to last summer's The Dark Knight with US$203.8 million.

This was the biggest opening weekend of this year, surpassing the US$85.1 million debut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in early May.

Transformers overcame harsh reviews from critics, who called it a visual-effects extravaganza without much story or human heart. Director Michael Bay has a history of bad reviews and big box office with Armageddon and Pearl Harbor.

"Michael Bay knows how to build the perfect summer box-office beast," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "He squarely aimed right at the demographic, right at what summer movie-goers want, and he put it on the screen. And audiences can't seem to get enough of it."

The sequel broadened the franchise's fan base. Females accounted for just 40 per cent of the audience for the first Transformers but 46 per cent for the sequel, Moore said.

Much of that was due to the on-screen romance for the characters played by Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, who were relative unknowns when the first movie came out.

TOP EARNERS:

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, US$112 million.

2. The Proposal, US$18.5 million.

3. The Hangover, US$17.2 million.

4. Up, US$13 million.

5. My Sister's Keeper, US$12 million.

6. Year One, US$5.8 million.

7. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, US$5.4 million.

8. Star Trek, US$3.6 million.

9. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, US$3.5 million.

10. Away We Go, US$1.7 million.