Transformers One doesn’t seem primed for a big opening after the film grossed $9.56 million in previews and opening nights at 3,978 theaters on Friday. That puts the animated prequel, co-produced by Paramount Animation and Hasbro Entertainment, on track for a $26.3 million opening weekend in North America, falling short of industry forecasts of more than $30 million.

Those domestic numbers aren’t a definite failure for the Paramount release, which was produced on a $75 million budget — a lower price tag than is typical for a studio animated film or a live-action “Transformers” adaptation. Plus, that franchise has proven more appealing to international audiences, especially in recent years. But it’s hard to imagine there weren’t hopes for a bigger opening to put some distance between “Transformers One” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which is still a chart-topping contender in its third weekend.

Whether Transformers One can keep a strong engine running in the coming weeks will be the key measure of its success. Paramount did manage to pull off a decent showing for another family-oriented film this summer, with the original special-effects flick IF grossing $111 million after a modest $33 million start. The studio will be banking on staying power here, too.

The Josh Cooley-directed prequel, which features voice talent from Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson and Keegan-Michael Key, has received good reviews, and audiences are pretty excited about the installment, which is the first theatrically released animated film in the series since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie. The polling company Cinema Score gave it a brilliant A after a survey of moviegoers. Bumblebee and the Autobots need that excitement, because Transformers One will compete for family audiences next week with Universal’s critically acclaimed animated film The Wild Robot.

Lionsgate also opens the Halle Berry thriller “Never Let Go” this weekend, posting another single-digit start for a wide release. The supernatural film from director Alexandre Aja grossed about $1.6 million on Friday and in previews at 2,667 theaters, and is expected to debut at number four.

The thriller, which finished with a lackluster C+ from Cinema Score, is the latest in an unflattering string of box office flops for Lionsgate, which has failed to attract audiences with “Borderlands,” “The Crow” and “The Killer’s Game,” all released in the past two months. The distributor is releasing Francis Ford Coppola’s polarizing epic “Megalopolis” next weekend, despite only distributing the film and not investing in the project. Nonetheless, “Megalopolis’s” weeks of poor box office numbers seem to herald another stagnant release for Lionsgate in the near future.

Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” continues to see sales rise. The sequel to the supernatural comedy grossed $6.7 million on Friday, down 54% from its $14.5 million daily total a week ago. “Transformers One” is in the lead for now, but there’s a chance the ghost flick will end up making the most money of any release – even in its third weekend. On Friday, it overtook “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” ($206 million) to become the third-highest-grossing domestic film of director Tim Burton’s career, adjusted for inflation. “Beetlejuice 2” is also now the sixth-highest-grossing film of the year in North America, having just overtaken “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($196 million) earlier this week.

Universal’s “Speak No Evil” slips into third place, with a 49% drop, and is expected to earn a $5.8 million second film. The horror remake produced by Blumhouse will gross over $21 million in the first ten days after release.

Still holding a spot in the top five is Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which earned $991,000 on Friday. The R-rated superhero comedy, now in its ninth weekend of release, overtook “The Avengers” ($623 million) a few days ago to become the 13th highest-grossing domestic film of all time. 12th place is still up for grabs if the film has enough staying power to catch up with “Barbie” ($636 million).

Meanwhile, Mubi is releasing the popular body horror film “The Substance” in 1,949 theaters. Director Coralie Fargeat’s critically acclaimed film, which won the screenplay award at Cannes in May, grossed $1.3 million on Friday and in previews. Not a huge success, but it’s supposed to be the start of a word-of-mouth streak fueled by great reviews, a superb gross-out factor and major awards buzz, especially for lead actress Demi Moore.