Fox joins Michael Bay, producer of TMNT, in hitting out at the films' detractors in no uncertain terms

Megan Fox has said fans who criticise the latest big screen outings for Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should "fuck off".

Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles on 1 August, the actor said cinemagoers would be lining up to see the new take on the "heroes in a half-shell" just as they had flocked to see the critically derided Transformers sequel Age of Extinction.

"Let me tell you something about those people," said Fox. "How much money did Transformers 4 make? Exactly. Those people can complain – they all go to the theatre. They're gonna love it – and if they don't love it, they can fuck off, and that's the end of that."

The actor's comments are a more strident version of the barbs made two years ago by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles producer Michael Bay – also the director of the Transformers films – after early criticism of his proposal to retool the reptilian heroes as "lovable aliens". "Fans need to take a breath, and chill," the film-maker responded in a statement. "They have not read the script."

The proposal to alter the turtles' origins was abandoned, and trailers for the forthcoming film, the fifth in the franchise, have been received positively. But Fox's comments suggest the film-making team may not be as sensitive to fans' concerns as previously thought.

She may have a point with regard to Transformers. By the weekend of 2-3 August, Age of Extinction passed the $1bn (£594,279m) mark at the global box office, becoming the 18th film ever to do so, despite derisive reviews. It currently maintains a rating of just 18% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the franchise's lowest.

Ready for feedback ... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Photograph: Moviestore Collection/REX

Fox's comments, which were first reported by Cinema Blend, are just the latest gaffe to hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is nevertheless expected to perform strongly at the box office. Paramount was last week forced to apologise for a publicity poster emblazoned with the words "September 11" and featuring a picture of the turtles hurtling from a burning building. The promotional material had been intended to publicise the film's Australian release

Has telling fans to "fuck off" become a trend in Hollywood? Simon Pegg hit out at "Trekkie" enthusiasts who voted JJ Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness the worst film in the series in August last year, while screenwriter Bob Orci later used similar phrasing to hit out at a fan who did not like the movie on an online forum.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, starring Fox as reporter and turtle confidante April O'Neil, with William Fichtner as one of the villains and Johnny Knoxville as the voice of turtle Leonardo, arrives in US cinemas on 8 August and UK multiplexes on 17 October.