Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles May Make $60 Million This Weekend

It wasn't long ago that nobody was predicting either Guardians of the Galaxy or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to make $50 million this weekend, which would have put the #1 spot within striking distance of the second-week Guardians.

It now looks like TMNT will overperform this weekend, generating as much as $60 million and, barring a truly spectacular second weekend from the Marvel sci-fi adventure, making it the weekend's decisive #1, according to Variety.

Paramount, the studio behind the Michael Bay-produced film, is trying to manage expectations with a prediction that it will make between $50 million and $55 million this week, while Disney expects Guardians to do between $41 and $46 million. Original projections on Turtles had been around $47 million, which made the weekend seem more competitive -- especially since Guardians has overperformed at every turn.

Guardians set a new August record last weekend by opening at $94 million. The previous record of $69 million had been held by The Bourne Ultimatum. Turtles seems to be succeeding by casting a wider net; the property is much better known, of course, and while only 66% of those who watch it report enjoying it according to Rotten Tomatoes, that gives them a broader base, even without the word of mouth or enthusiasm of a film like Guardians.