Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which began its assault Tuesday night, already grossed more than the cost of the movie. However, the Michael Bay movie was a big hit abroad than in the U.S. and Canada.

The movie smashed rivals and delighted movie fans around the world, ringing up $372 million at global box offices since its Wednesday debut, Paramount Pictures said on Sunday, Reuters reported.

The movie collected $210 million overseas compared to $162 million in the domestic markets. It shows that foreigners love Hollywood. And now more than ever, they have the money and numbers to pay up and make producers rich.

The third Transformers film, which cost about $200 million to make, grossed $97.4 million over the weekend surpassing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides's $90.2 million debut. However, it is lower compared to Revenge of the Fallen's initial weekend $109 million.

For the first five days, the collection totaled $161 million in domestic markets since it premiered with sneak peeks at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. But the numbers are well behind compared to Revenge of the Fallen at this point two years ago. The second installment collected $200 million after its first five days in theaters.

Tracking suggests Dark of the Moon will gross around $180 million through July 4th, which falls on a Monday. But the number is far less than the $214 million that Revenge of the Fallen earned in its six-day debut in summer 2009.

The film also recorded the biggest Independence Day weekend opening, beating Spider-Man 2, which took $88.2 million from Friday to Sunday in 2004, CNN reported.

The third installment recorded the best opening-day gross of 2011. The film grossed $37.2 million on Wednesday in its first full day of play at U.S. and Canadian box offices compared to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

On Wednesday, the movie was released in a total of 4,000 theaters, including 2,800 3Dsites. Roughly, 60 percent of the ticket sales came from 3D theaters including Imax runs, a solid uptick for the format which has shown weakness at box offices in recent months.

Transformers is Paramount's biggest franchise, with the first two films grossing $1.54 billion. The last movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the second highest grossing movie in 2009 but it drew negative reviews, and Bay himself has said that it wasn't his best effort.

Hollywood Canada Hollywood Moon