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‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Delivers $65 Million Debut, Sequel Announced
Paramount Pictures was so pleased by “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’s” $93.7 million global debut this weekend, that it announced it is moving forward with plans for a sequel to the franchise reboot.
Domestically, the film kicked up a sterling $65 million from 3,845 locations. Part two will land in theaters on June 3, 2016 with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes returning again as a producer and screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (“Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”coming back as screenwriters.
The sequel announcement comes after the film managed to hold off “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Analysts expected the Marvel film to take a bigger chunk out of “Ninja Turtle’s” profits given that both films were expected to appeal to younger males. The comic book film still managed to bring in $41.5 million in its sophomore weekend, a 56% drop from its debut that pushed its stateside haul to $175.9 million.
“‘Guardians’ is a great movie and it’s always tough to come right behind a great movie,” said Megan Colligan, president of domestic marketing and distribution. “Ultimately we played more like a family film and they played a notch older…The great thing about summer is the marketplace is able to expand to allow for these two films.”
Men made up 61% of “Ninja Turtle’s” opening audience, which was 45% under the age of 25, which was the same as “Guardian’s” debut weekend (55%, 26 and older, but 56% male).
“Ninja Turtles” was a big $125 million gamble for Paramount Pictures, which is trying to demonstrate to its corporate leaders at Viacom that it can pull off big-screen synergy. In the case of “Ninja Turtles” that meant capitalizing on the highly rated cartoon reboot that was overseen by Nickelodeon, another Viacom property.
“This is a really important property for all of Viacom,” said Colligan. “The show is a big hit, and in terms of the toys and merchandise, kids have a huge appetite for it and really, really love this brand.”
A week after “Guardians of the Galaxy” broke records for the month with its $94.3 million bow, “Ninja Turtles” scored the fourth biggest August debut in history. In addition to the Marvel film, it trails “The Bourne Ultimatum” ($69.3 million) and “Rush Hour 2″ ($67.4 million).
After a summer of dwindling ticket sales, the box office rebound sparked by “Guardians” continued this weekend. Overall, domestic receipts were up 16% from the same weekend a year ago when “Elysium” and “We’re the Millers” both debuted.
Disaster film “Into the Storm” received a tepid reception from moviegoers, picking up a disappointing $18 million when it debuted across 3,434 screens. However, the Warner Bros. release cost a lean $50 million to produce. The lower price tag caused domestic distribution president Dan Fellman to express confidence that the storm chaser film will turn a profit.
“It’s all about the bottom line,” said Fellman. “It’s never my wish to open up at number three, but I’m happy being there today looking at the competitive environment.”
“Into the Storm” skewed female (58% of the opening weekend audience) and older (71% of the debut crowd was over the age of 25).
DreamWorks’ “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” the story of a high-end French restauranteurs standoff with the proprietor of a new Indian restaurant, bowed to $11.2 million in 2,023 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The film carries a $22 million production budget and traded heavily on the appeal of producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. It’s a humdrum opening, but the picture could be profitable if older crowds continue to show up in the coming weeks.
Summit’s “Step Up All In,” the fifth installment in the dance competition franchise, debuted to $6.6 million in 2,072 locations, less than even the studio’s modest expectations. The film has been received more warmly overseas, where it has generated $37.7 million from 34 foreign territories.
Among holdovers, “Lucy” secured fifth place with $9.3 million and now stands at $97.4 million domestically. It passes “He’s Just Not That Into You” ($93.9 million) as Scarlett Johansson’s highest grossing, non-Marvel movie. The James Brown biopic “Get on Up” failed to capitalize on its A CinemaScore rating, falling 63% in its second weekend to $5 million. It has made a paltry $23 million so far.
In limited release, Daniel Radcliffe took off the Harry Potter specs and tackled the romantic comedy genre. “What If,” his stab at “meet cute,” grossed an estimated $130,000 on twenty screens in ten markets, while Woody Allen’s “Magic in the Moonlight” expanded from 65 to 170 screens this weekend, adding $803,922 to its $2.4 million total.
IFC Films’ “Boyhood,” perhaps the biggest critical hit of the summer, continued to build on strong word-of-mouth. The indie darling expanded to 500 screens grossing over $2 million dollars. Its total now stands at $10.7 million, making it the third-highest grossing Richard Linklater film, beyond only his more overtly commercial offerings, “School of Rock” and “The Bad News Bears.”
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