Poor reviews haven't affected the box office for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen it would seem, with the big-budget sequel set to become the highest grossing film of the year by Friday.

Only Angels and Demons stands in its way at present, and with that film on $469m globally thus far since May, and Transformers already on $448.4m, the picture is doing mega business in all territories.

"It is holding incredibly well despite a heatwave in Europe and some kids only getting out of school now" Paramount President of International Distribution Andrew Cripps told Variety. "As sequels and franchises go, there is a lot of goodwill for Transformers."

Follow up:

The Transformers team has invaded the global box office.

Judging from the box office receipts, that goodwill is particularly strong in Asia, where the film achieved the highest ever opening for an English-language film in China, and also broke records in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.

It's also continuing to do big business in the UK, where the 10-day cumulative total is a whopping $27m. www.ign.com