‘Bumblebee’ Sets Early Screenings Two Weeks Before Official Premiere

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Paramount Pictures will show Hailee Steinfeld’s “Bumblebee” on Dec. 8 in North America — 13 days before the “Transformers” spinoff opens.

The studio announced the screenings Wednesday, two days after Amazon and Atom Tickets said they were offering Amazon Prime members an exclusive early showing of Warner Bros.’ “Aquaman” on Dec. 15. “Aquaman” is opening opposite “” on Dec. 21. Disney is opening “Mary Poppins Returns” two days earlier.

Customers who buy a ticket to the early screenings of “Bumblebee” will also receive a Transformers: Tiny Turbo Changers Movie Toy from Hasbro. Showtimes will be at 7 p.m.

Studios have been opting to go early on major titles during the past year. Amazon, Atom Tickets, and Sony teamed last December on early showings of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” and generated $1.9 million domestically. Warner Bros.’ recently generated $1.8 million from early showings of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” on the Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov. 13 and 14) at 600 venues before the film went into wide release.

“Bumblebee” is set in 1987 in a beach town, where Steinfeld’s character discovers a battle-scarred and broken yellow Volkswagen and revives him. The film also stars John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz, Jason Drucker, Pamela Adlon, and Stephen Schneider.

“Bumblebee” is the sixth installment of the Transformers franchise, which has grossed $4.3 billion worldwide since the first film in 2007. It’s directed by Travis Knight and written by Christina Hodson.