(Cover) - EN Movies - Transformers: Dark of the Moon eclipsed its box office rivals with a record breaking opening weekend.

The action blockbuster, the third in the Transformers franchise, enjoyed the most successful Independence Day weekend ever at the US box office after taking $97 million easily surpassing Spider-Man 2's total of $88 million during the American holiday in 2004.

Since Dark of the Moon debuted last Tuesday it has now made $162 million. However, its success is tempered by the fact it didn't achieve the projected sales target of $180 million. The film, which is estimated to have cost nearly $200 million, also fell short of the previous instalment's opening weekend box office. 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen made $109 million.

Critics have also pointed out that Dark of the Moon's success is due to rising ticket prices attributed to its 3D screenings, which costs cinemagoers around $3 more per ticket.

Cars 2 was in second place in the US weekend box office, followed by Cameron Diaz's foul-mouthed comedy Bad Teacher. Tom Hank's latest directorial offering, Larry Crowne, debuted in at a disappointing fourth place. The comedy drama, which also stars Julia Roberts, only made $13 million. Monte Carlo rounded out the top five. (C) Cover Media