Taking the “Transformers” franchise back to the kiddie cartoon it always was turns out to be the safest bet Paramount could make with its creaking, clunky sci-fi/toys franchise.

No more Michael Bay, just family audiences turning up to the tune of $26+ million for “Transformers One,” an origin story the adults in the room never asked for.

Deadline.com says that will edge out Tim Burton’s return to the “Beetlejuice” universe, with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” adding $25 million to Warners’ coffers by midnight Sunday. That’s a genuine September blockbuster, probably ending the month with over $250-260 million in the domestic box office bank.

The James McAvoy vs. Mackenzie Davis thriller “Speak No Evil” is doing well enough to justify remaking the Danish/Dutch film it’s based on, adding as much as $6 million $5.8?) to its take this weekend. It should clear $30 by the time it’s finished its run.

I went to a late afternoon rural America matinee of “Never Let Go” and was an audience of one for this Halle Berry star vehicle (not really) directed by Alexandre Aja. It spun its wheels on the screen, and that’s proving to be the case with ticket sales as well, with only a $3.5-$4+ million or so opening weekend to brag about.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is chasing it for that fourth place spot, also headed towards $4 million. Funny thing, I have ducked into this midsummer release while waiting for another movie to start once or twice, and audiences catching it this late in the game appear to be either laughed-out repeat visitors, or folks who don’t get any of the jokes. They’re wondering “Why did I bother?” Well, Ryan Reynolds can’t support a family on Aviation Gin cash, and Hugh Jackman, as Deadpool jokes in the movie, just “went through a divorce.”

Mubi opened “The Substance” on a lot of screens, got a collection of LA-mostly reviews pre-release, most o them enthusiastic. But as Deadline notes, they didn’t spend much promoting it. I asked for a screener link (Mubi, like Tubi, is mostly a streaming distributor) and couldn’t get one, and I wasn’t alone. Effort on that end is not as expensive as buying TV ads or booking Demi on all the late night chat shows, and it makes more impact.

“Substance” is not for all audiences, but it’s ambitious and biting and edgy and “out there” with terrific performances by Demi and Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. They may clear $3 million with it on nearly 2000 screens. Maybe $. Maybe, but unlikely to hit $3.5. They left a lot of money on the table by cheaping-out on promoting it. Serve up screener links to critics, kids. Ask similar small distributors Roadside, Bleecker Street and A24. They’ll tell you lots of reviews equals more cheap attention and that pays off.

The rhetorical question “Am I Racist” is still drawing the racists, etc., but there aren’t enough of them to make it a “thing.” Maybe $2.6-$3 million in its second weekend, dropping to 7th place.

“Reagan” is more of a comfort food for conservatives hit, closing in on $30 million with another $2 million or just shy of that this weekend. Not a blockbuster, but its hanging around long enough to rub “bomb” off its bottom line. And that’s all that matters to its distributor and its audience, not veracity or morality. Quaid makes a decent enough version of Ronald Reagan, although he’s a lot more fun in “The Substance.”

The soulless reboot/sequel “Alien: Romulus” just cleared the $100 million mark on its last weekend in the top ten. Yay for whoever saw to that.