For the second straight week, Hollywood has something to smile about on a Monday morning. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exploded at the box office, far surpassing expectations both in North America and in foreign territories.
TMNT, produced by Paramount, Nickelodeon and explosions master Michael Bay, grossed a surprising $65 million at the domestic box office. The film hit its target audience on the nose, with those nostalgic for the late-’80s and early-’90s TMNT wave rushing to see how their favorite characters look in 2014. In addition, the younger crowd that has grown up on Nickelodeon’s current series also showed. So, 55 percent of the audience was over 25.
The film also overcame horrific reviews, earning just a 19 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. When audiences did see it, they weren’t all that impressed either, only giving the film a B CinemaScore grade, notes Box Office Mojo.
Still, Paramount couldn't care less about that. The $125 million film was also a global hit, bringing its international total to $97.3 million, notes The Hollywood Reporter. With that in mind, Paramount already scheduled the sequel for June 3, 2015, with the writers returning.
Guardians of the Galaxy took the usual second-week tumble for superhero movies, dropping to $41.5 million. Still, the movie has already made $313.2 million internationally ($137.3 million in North America).
After that, there was a huge gap. The no. 3 movie, Warner Bros.’ Into the Storm made just $18 million, while Disney and DreamWorks’ The Hundred-Foot Journey took in $11.1 million. Lucy added $9.3 million.
There were two huge disappointments further down the chart. Step Up All In opened to a franchise-low $6.6 million, while the James Brown biopic Get On Up added $5 million. After two weeks, Get On Up has only made $22.9 million.
image of ‘TMNT’ star Megan Fox courtesy of Nancy Rivera/ACE/INFphoto.com