Summary

Hemsworth joins Transformers and G.I. Joe, but history with franchises shows risk in box office success.
Speculation rises on Hemsworth’s role in crossover, hoping his star power can boost box office results.
Both Hemsworth and Transformers need each other to save their box office standings in the industry.

Chris Hemsworth is set to headline the new Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie, but his casting is a risk after his recent franchise box office trend. The Australian movie star is no stranger to franchise roles after getting a life-changing opportunity to play Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He even already has a role in the Transformers universe thanks to voicing Optimus Prime in Transformers One. However, Hemsworth has now been cast in what appears to be the lead human role of the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts set up.

The announcement sparked speculation about what character Chris Hemsworth could play in the crossover, whether they be human characters from Transformers lore, one of the G.I. Joe leads, or even voicing Optimus Prime again. Casting someone as recognizable as Hemsworth appears to be Paramount’s way to give the upcoming movie a boost that will hopefully translate to a bigger box office haul. The thought that having the lead of Thor, a $2.7 billion franchise, would bring Transformers 8 a bigger box office is understandable, but Hemsworth’s history with joining existing franchises says otherwise.

Chris Hemsworth’s Box Office History With Established Franchises Is Not Good

His Last 4 “New” Franchises Haven’t Hit

The Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie is the latest example of Chris Hemsworth joining a known franchise. While the size of his roles has varied, none of them proved to be that successful. He previously had a small role in 2015’s Vacation reboot. He went on to join 2016’s Ghostbusters in another supporting role before headlining Men in Black: International in 2019 and playing the main villain in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in 2024. Hemsworth was an established actor by the time each of these films came out, but none were major box office hits.

Movie
Box Office
Rotten Tomatoes

Vacation
$107.2 Million
27% Critics / 45% Audiences

Ghostbusters
$229.1 Million
74% Critics / 49% Audiences

Men in Black: International
$253.9 Million
23% Critics / 66% Audiences

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Not all of Chris Hemsworth’s previous franchise movies have been complete box office bombs. Vacation likely turned a small profit for the studio, but its reviews were so bad another installment was never made – and Hemsworth’s smaller role means his presence likely did not play too big of a factor. Ghostbusters was not a success after not making double its $145 million budget. Men in Black: International might be profitable after a $110 million budget, but Sony’s disinterest in another Hemsworth-led film speaks volumes. Now, Furiosa‘s box office is drastically underperforming right as Hemsworth lands in Transformers.

Transformers Is In The Midst Of Its Own Box Office Decline

Rise Of The Beasts Set A New Record Low

Chris Hemsworth is not exactly the new version of “Franchise Viagra” that The Rock used to be, even though that’s more so what Transformers needs. The Transformers movies became a dominant box office performer during Michael Bay’s tenure, leading to back-to-back $1 billion hits at one point. But, Paramount has since watched how much money the films bring in continue to decline. Transformers: The Last Knight, Bumblebee, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts all set new record lows for the franchise.

Instead of the Transformers movies seeing their box office totals increase after Michael Bay, they have struggled to draw in mass audiences. Some of this could be due to the burnout from Bay’s era, while different ideas for what the franchise should focus on might also alienate some viewers. Adding G.I. Joe to the mix is a chance to bolster the financial returns of the next installment by delivering the crossover so many have waited decades for. That’s the case even though the G.I. Joe movies have never been box office hits.

Chris Hemsworth & Transformers Need Each Other To Save Their Box Office Performances

Neither Can Afford For The Crossover To Fail

There could have been a point in time when Chris Hemsworth and Transformers would be a pairing of a bankable star and a massively popular movie franchise. That is not the reality that either are in right now. Chris Hemsworth needs the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie to be a major hit to rebuild some of his credibility as a box office draw away from the MCU. Meanwhile, Transformers needs a star like Hemsworth to attract more audiences and tell them that this is a movie worth seeing and spending their money to do so in theaters.

The fact that Hemsworth and Transformers are uniting at a point where both are in need of saving is what makes the casting, and potentially the movie itself, a risk. Audiences have not proven that Hemsworth’s presence alone will bring them to theaters. Similarly, Transformers‘ box office trend indicates dwindling interest in the property itself. It is now up to the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie to prove that both of these current truths are not permanent. If it can, then Chris Hemsworth can save a major franchise at last instead of killing it.