(news.sawf.org) - "TMNT," the action saga of the teenage mutant ninja turtles, grabbed 25.4 million dollars and ousted the Greco-Persian war epic "300" from its two-week reign over North American theatres, according to figures from box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Movie-goer parents who were fans in the 1980s and 1990s brought their young ones in droves to see the martial-arts turtles battle back from dysfunction and lethargy to fight crime once again.
In second place was the controversial "300," which covers the 480 BC Battle of Thermopylae between a massive invading Persian force and outnumbered Greek soldiers, with 20.5 million dollars.
Though the film has angered Iranian authorities who complain it portrays their ancient ancestors as savages, it has been made a surprise splash at North American theatres, raking in 162.4 million dollars in its first three weeks.
Debuting in third place with 14.5 million was "Shooter," starring Mark Wahlberg, just nominated for best supporting actor in Martin Scorsese's winner "The Departed," as a sniper framed for assassination.
The comedy "Wild Hogs," which portrays the bumbling motorcycle road trip of a handful of middle-age suburbanites, took fourth place with 14.3 million, while the Sandra Bullock thriller "Premonition" fell to fifth with 10.1 million.
Debuting at sixth was "The Hills Have Eyes 2," the horror sequel to last year's remake of Wes Craven original, which snatched 10 million; while the futuristic save-the-planet feature "The Last Mimzy" came in seventh with 9.5 million.
Two more new films rounded out the top nine: "Reign Over Me," a September 11 recovery story starring Adam Sandler took in eight million and "Pride," about the challenges faced by a 1970s African American swim team earned four million.
The mad ventriloquist horror pic "Dead Silence," earned 3.4 million, and comedian Chris Rock's "I Think I Love My Wife" 2.8 million.
Rounding out the top 12 films of the weekend was family adventure story "Bridge to Terabithia," based on the award-winning novel by Katherine Paterson, took 2.3 million dollars.
The top 12 films pulled in 125 million dollars for the Friday to Sunday period, an increase of around 27 million dollars from a year earlier.