The sequel, once again starring Megan Fox and Will Arnett, also launched in 40 percent of the international marektplace, including in Russia, Mexico and the United Kingdom, this weekend, grossing $34 million for a global debut of $69.3 million. There are still several major territories left to open, the biggest being China on July 2.
Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore acknowledged that the studio hoped the domestic launch would be bigger, but said that the film could make up ground in the coming weeks. The second Ninja Turtles played younger, although both sport a PG-13 rating, with 51% of the opening weekend crowd coming in under 25 years old as opposed to 45% for the first picture.
"This time, 40 percent of the audience was under 18. Last time, it was 27 percent. The good news is that family movies tend to play to higher multiples," said Moore, predicting that, "the gap [between the films] will narrow as we play out."
"Clearly, the bar is being raised in terms of sequels," said Moore.
The return of the turtles was enough to knock X-Men: Apocalypse from the top spot on the stateside charts. The superhero sequel slid more than 65% in its second weekend to earn $22.3 million for a second place finish. The latest X-Men has earned $116.5 million since debuting over Memorial Day.
Out of the Shadows, directed by David Green from a script by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, stars the terrapins along with Megan Fox, Stephen Amell, Will Arnett, Brian Tee, Tyler Perry, Laura Linney, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Howard. In TMNT 2, the Heroes in a Half Shell come into conflict with Perry's evil Dr. Baxter Stockman. TMNT 2 cost $135 million to make, and was produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes.
The movie has received an A- CinemaScore from audiences.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, ComingSoon.net.
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