The "Turtles" will be back. After a successful opening night at the box office over the weekend, Paramount announced plans to release a sequel for "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," set for 2016. According to reports, Michael Bay will return as producer and Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec have both signed on as screenwriters again.
It's not clear if Jonathan Liebsman will return as director. The reboot hit theaters Friday (Aug. 8) and earned $65 million, beating out "Guardians of the Galaxy." While critics weren't necessarily thrilled with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," moviegoers seemed to thoroughly enjoy the flick.
Most fans thought the live-action movie was a lot better than Bay's "Transformers."
"We felt a great responsibility to ensure audiences were going to experience everything they loved about the 'Turtles,' while also getting to see them brought to life in a way they had never been seen before," said Paramount Film Group President Adam Goodman in a statement. "The result exceeded our high expectations and the response to the film is beyond great, making it all the more fun to get started on the continuation of their story."
Megan Colligan, Paramount's president of domestic marketing and distribution, said part of the reason "Turtles" was so successful during its opening night was because it was marketed as a "family film."
"'Guardians' is a great movie and it's always tough to come right behind a great movie. Ultimately we played more like a family film and they played a notch older... The great thing about summer is the marketplace is able to expand to allow for these two films," said Colligan.
The sequel to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is slated for a June 3, 2016 release date.
