Updated figures from the Hollywood studios indicate that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen just beat out Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in a photo finish in the race for box office supremacy over the Fourth of July weekend.  Revised totals indicate that the second Transformers film earned $42.3 million, while Fox’s third Ice Age installment grossed in the neighborhood of $41.7 million.  Weekend estimates from their respective studios had put the two summer blockbusters in a dead heat with $42.5 million each.

Unlike last year’s dominant film, The Dark Knight, which found favor with critics and audiences alike, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has been savaged by the screen pundits.  It has earned an abysmal  20% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  While summer tentpoles often appear to be somewhat “critic-proof,” the disconnect between the critics’ reaction to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and that of its mammoth audience is immense.  In just 12 days the new Transformers movie has earned over $293 million and become the highest-grossing film of the year.  In contrast The Dark Knight, which ended up with a domestic total of $533.3 million, had earned $334 million in its first dozen days of release.  While the second Transformers film is now well off TDK’s pace, and a $500 million domestic performance for the robot-infused sequel seems unlikely, it certainly appears that Revenge of the Fallen could easily top $400 million and will likely be the highest grossing film of 2009.