Transformers: Age of Extinction continues to dominate the global box office and has amassed $752 million in little under three weeks. This almost certainly secures a place for Michael Bay’s movie in the rapidly expanding $1 Billion Club.

Currently, the action sequel has grossed approximately $209 million in the US which is noticeably below the near $300 million Dark of the Moon had accumulated by the same point. An educated guess would place the final US tally for Age of Extinction somewhere between $250-$290 million, even at the high end of this estimate the latest entry will be the lowest grosser domestically. The shortfall is being made up with record numbers in key international markets with China yielding the biggest expansion. Out pacing the previous entry by more than $100 million and counting, Age of Extinction is now China’s highest grossing film of all time.

When the totaliser reaches $1 billion it will make Michael Bay the third director to have more than one film to reach this milestone at the worldwide box office. Peter Jackson has two entries with Return of the King and the first of his Hobbit trilogy, and Christopher Nolan has two with the second and third Dark Knight films. James Cameron on the other hand, he’s still in a league of his own as both Titanic and Avatar made over $2 billion a feat no other filmmaker has been able to replicate.    

Elsewhere in the US top ten, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes swung in to nationwide release and earned an impressive $72.6 total for the weekend. A huge improvement from the solid opening of 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, three years on and the fan base has broadened thanks to strong word of mouth and high praise from critics. Widely regarded as on of the best prequel/reboots in recent memory the follow-up cleverly builds on that but shifts the timeline forward.

This is good news for director Matt Reeves as Fox shrewdly signed him up to helm the untitled third film months ago, the release date for summer 2016 has already been set so expect further details before the end of the year.