THE WRAP: NINJA TURTLES DEFEAT 300 WARRIORS

The return of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles proved auspicious after TMNT took in an estimated $25.45 million in its first three days of release, good enough to top the weekend box office chart.

The turtles’ ticket sales proved too much for Warner Bros. studio mate 300, which fell out of the top spot after two weekends at No. 1. The film took in $20.51 million this weekend and has a total North American gross of $162.35 million. The film, which had a $65 million budget and a large, but unannounced marketing budget, will likely become profitable in the next week (if it hasn’t already), meaning that the film will be considered a huge financial success when international box office, DVD, and television deals come into play. 300 has a very good chance at cracking the $200 million mark in domestic box office.

Paramount’s Shooter debuted in the No. 3 position after selling $14.501 million worth of tickets in its first three days on screen. Wild Hogs followed close behind at No. 4 with an estimated take of $14.362 million. The Buena Vista film might take the No. 3 position when final weekend grosses are announced Monday (March 26).

Rounding out the top five is New Line’s The Last Mimzy, which took a large risk opening against TMNT, and which took in $10.2 million in its first weekend of release. Premonition took in approximately $10.1 million in its second week of release, currently giving it the No. 6 position. The Hills Have Eyes 2 garnered $10 million this weekend, which currently places it in the No. 7 spot. Positions five through seven are liable to change when final grosses are announced Monday.

Sony’s Reign Over Me grossed $8 million this weekend, which landed the film firmly in the No. 8 position. Its $4,787 per screen average gives it an impressive fourth place finish this weekend among films unspooling on more than 1,000 screens Lionsgate’s Pride debuted unimpressively at No. 9 on ticket sales of $4 million. Rounding out the top 10 is last week’s No. 4 film, Dead Silence, which grossed $3.468 million this weekend, bringing its 10-day cumulative total to $13.24 million.

Outside the top 10, The Namesake continues to perform well. The film added 76 screens this weekend (for a total of 117 screens) and took in $1.355 million, for an impressive per screen average of $11,581.

In limited release, historical drama Journey from the Fall took in $76,000 on only four screens, for a chart-leading per screen average of $19,000. Sony Classics Offside took in $19,000 on five screens, and Yari Film Group’s First Snow grossed $15,500 on three screens.