Optimus in his Prime again; Classic Transformers going for $2,100 as film rages through Asia

BEIJING Hollywood Today (AFP) – It will be Harry Potter Vs the Robots in the U.S. this weekend, but there’s no such battle in Asia where the Transformers were born. Prices of “Transformers” toys in China have soared amid hype over the Hollywood blockbuster’s debut here, with the movie also smashing box-office records across the country, state press said Friday.

The price for a well-preserved Fortress Maximus toy made in 1987 and on sale at a shop in Beijing has soared to 16,000 yuan ($2,114), 80 times the price 20 years ago, the Beijing Daily Messenger reported. Ebay has vintage Transformers toys that bidding starts at $2,000 on, and more than 1,100 listings in all for T-bot toys from its movie and film eras.

Some other robots are currently selling at 900 yuan, about double the price from the beginning of the year, the report added.

Fans collecting the toys are normally aged between 25 to 40. They grew up as the Japanese cartoon on which the movie was based dominated television screens in China during the 1980s, the paper said.

The Steven Spielberg-produced, Michael Bay-directed action film made its debut in China Wednesday night and immediately raked in 224 million yuan, breaking the ticket-box record for foreign movies in China formerly held by Spiderman 3, the Beijing News said.