MUMBAI: Paramount‘s Transformers: Dark of the Moon has managed to transform its popularity into box office delight for its producer. It has recorded the third best worldwide debut of all time and grossing $372 million through Sunday.

Domestically, Dark of the Moon‘s gross through Sunday was $162 million. It‘s expected to earn another $18.8 million Monday for a total domestic launch of $180.8 million.

With the 4 July holiday still to come, the Michael Bay film, in all likelihood, should finish Monday with a total opening gross of $405.8 million, feel insiders.

That would not change its status compared to Half-Blood Prince and Spider-Man, since Monday‘s grosses don‘t count in terms of the record. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince scored the best worldwide debut of all time in grossing $394 million, followed by Spider-Man 3 at $382 million.

It may be recollected that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen earned $200 million in its six-day domestic debut.

Overseas, Dark of the Moon remained the undisputed king where it‘s already grossed $210 million. It beat $147 million earned by Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Through Monday, Paramount puts the film‘s foreign total to $225 million.

Paramount heavily marketed the 3D element of Bay‘s film and the efforts did pay off. In North America, the film earned 60 per cent of its grosses from 3D theaters. Overseas, where 3D continues to thrive in certain markets, 70 per cent of the grosses came from 3D.

Imax theaters playing Dark of the Moon raked in $22.5 million worldwide, while domestically, it hit another milestone, its Friday through Sunday gross of $97.4 million was seen as the best three-day number ever for the 4 July weekend.

On the other hand the Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts starrer Larry Crowne grossed an estimated $13 million through Sunday to stand at the No. 4 position at the domestic box office trailing Dark of the Moon and holdovers Cars 2 and Bad Teacher.