'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2' Wins Ho-Hum Weekend With $35.3M

By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter

Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows easily won the North American box-office race even as it became the latest Hollywood sequel to come in well behind its predecessor.

The family friendly film topped the chart with $35.3 million from 3,701 theaters, more than 46 percent behind the 2014 reboot. In August 2014, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wowed $65.6 million on its way to grossing $493.2 million worldwide for Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies.

The sequel, once again starring Megan Fox and Will Arnett, also launched in 40 percent of the foreign marketplace this weekend, grossing $34 million for a global debut of $69.3 million (it doesn’t launch in China until July 2.) David Green directs, which also stars Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Howard.

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TMNT 2 cost $135 million to make, and was produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes. Paramount believes the male-driven movie will play younger than the 2014 film, although both sport a PG-13 rating

X-Men: Apocalypse fell to No. 2 in its second weekend, declining 66 percent to $22.3 million from 4,153 locations weekend for a domestic total of $116.5 million. Worldwide, the Fox superhero tentpole has earned well north of $300 million.

New Line and MGM’s romantic tearjerker Me Before You, starring Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) opposite The Hunger Games’ San Claflin, followed with a pleasing $18.3 million from 2,704 theaters.

Me Before You is an adaptation of Jojo Moyes’ novel about a young woman caring for a man who was paralyzed in a tragic accident. The film, fueled by younger women, nabbed an A CinemaScore. Females made up 81 percent of the audience, while 53 percent of the audience was under 35.

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Overseas, Me Before You took in $7.7 million from its first 16 markets for a worldwide bow of $26 million. That includes a first-place finish in the U.K. with $2.7 million, followed by South Korea followed with $1.6 million.

The weekend’s other new nationwide player was Universal’s mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, starring Andy Samberg as a Justin Bieber-like popstar who lives a ridiculous lifestyle while trying to build a solo career after headlining a popular boy band. The $21 million film, targeting younger males, came in No. 8 with a forgettable $4.6 million from 2,311 theaters.

Written by The Lonely Island comedy trio Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, Popstarearned a middling B CinemaScore and was directed by Schaffer and Taccone, who also star alongside Samberg. The rest of the cast includes Sarah Silverman, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph and Imogen Poots.

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Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass continued to struggle in its second weekend, coming in No. 4 with an estimated $10.7 million from 3,763 locations for domestic cume of $58.8 million. (The movie hit theaters just as star Johnny Depp was accused of allegedly assaulting his wife, Amber Heard, who is seeking to end their 15-month marriage.)

Oversees, Alice 2 earned another $30.9 million for a foreign total of $125.5 million and global cume of $176.4 million.

Animated family film Angry Birds: The Movie rounded out the top five in its third weekend with $10.8 million from 3,484 theaters. Globally, the Sony and Rovio has jumped the $280 million mark, including a solid $86.7 million domestically.

Legendary and Universal’s big-budget video game adaptation Warcraft continues its international expansion, opening in another eight markets. The tentpole earned $29.9 million from 28 territories for an early foreign total of $70 million. While Warcraft is prospering in some countries, such as Russia and Germany, its chances are iffy in the U.S., where tracking suggests it will open in the $22 million-$24 million range.

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