Michael Bay made his directorial debut in the 1995 buddy cop action comedy film ‘Bad Boys.’ The film received mixed reception but was a massive box office success, grossing over $141.4 million against a budget of $19 million. ‘Bad Boys’ gained a cult status in subsequent years. The following year, he directed the action thriller film ‘The Rock,’ which again made big numbers at the box office. In 1998, Bay directed the science fiction disaster film ‘Armageddon.’ Despite opening to largely negative reviews, the film became a major box office success and went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1998. Bay also received several awards, including the ‘MTV Movie Award’ and 2 ‘Saturn Awards.’Â
In 2001, Michael Bay directed the American romantic war drama film ‘Pearl Harbor.’ The film was panned by critics, however, it still earned 4 ‘Academy Award’ nominations. ‘Pearl Harbor’ was also a major commercial success. In 2007, he directed the science fiction action film ‘Transformers.’ The film opened to positive reviews upon release and was a massive box office success. He then directed films like ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ (2009), ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ (2011), ‘Pain & Gain’ (2013), and ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ (2014). Apart from directing, Bay has also produced several films such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (2003), ‘The Amityville Horror’ (2005), ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning’ (2006), ‘Friday the 13th’ (2009), ‘I Am Number Four’ (2011), ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ (2014), ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ (2016), and ‘The First Purge’ (2018).
In 2021, Bay produced the dystopian action horror film ‘The Forever Purge,’ directed by Everardo Gout. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a financial success, grossing over $77 million against a budget of $18 million. He will return to the director’s chair for the upcoming action thriller film ‘Ambulance.’