Tmnt

The interactive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle thrill ride debuting at Minnesota's Nickelodeon Universe will send riders spinning through the air like high-flying martial artists. PHOTOS: TMNT Shell Shock ride at Nickelodeon Universe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Shell Shock, a first of its kind ride in the U.S., is scheduled to open on March 17 at the indoor amusement park inside the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. The Gerstlauer Sky Fly tower will lift riders 70 feet in the air aboard single-seat gondolas at the end of a cantilevered arm rotating around a central tower at 25 mph.  Riders will control the pitch of the gondola's wings with their hands -- choosing to simply sit and spin, gently teeter-totter like a see-saw or wildly rotate like a plane propeller.

The interactive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle thrill ride debuting at Minnesota's Nickelodeon Universe will send riders spinning through the air like high-flying martial artists. PHOTOS: TMNT Shell Shock ride at Nickelodeon Universe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Shell Shock, a first of its kind ride in the U.S., is scheduled to open on March 17 at the indoor amusement park inside the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. The Gerstlauer Sky Fly tower will lift riders 70 feet in the air aboard single-seat gondolas at the end of a cantilevered arm rotating around a central tower at 25 mph.  Riders will control the pitch of the gondola's wings with their hands -- choosing to simply sit and spin, gently teeter-totter like a see-saw or wildly rotate like a plane propeller.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles blasted out of their shells, topping the weekend box office with their first new movie in 14 years. "TMNT," the first computer-animated tale of the reptilian crime fighters, hauled in $25.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to Sunday's studio estimates. The Warner Bros. and Weinstein Co. film, produced for less than $40 million, knocked the blockbuster Spartan battle epic "300" into second place after two weekends atop the charts.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles blasted out of their shells, topping the weekend box office with their first new movie in 14 years. "TMNT," the first computer-animated tale of the reptilian crime fighters, hauled in $25.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to Sunday's studio estimates. The Warner Bros. and Weinstein Co. film, produced for less than $40 million, knocked the blockbuster Spartan battle epic "300" into second place after two weekends atop the charts.

In the age of "Batman Begins" and "Superman Returns," the hatchers of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise must have seen a promising opportunity to re-imagine their heroes for a new generation. Toward that end, "TMNT" bids farewell to the jokey, cheesy guys-in-rubber-suits world of the '90s movies in favor of a more character-oriented approach, a grittier look and superb computer animation -- with decidedly mixed results.

Preliminary results (in millions) in the U.S. and Canada, based on studio projections: -- *--* Movie 3-day gross Total TMNT $25.5 $25.5 300 20.5 162.4 Shooter 14.5 14.5 Wild Hogs 14.4 123.8 The Last Mimzy 10.2 10.2 Premonition 10.1 32.2 The Hills Have Eyes II 10.0 10.0 Reign Over Me 8.0 8.0 Pride 4.0 4.0 Dead Silence 3.5 13.2 *--* Industry totals *--* 3-day gross Change (in millions) from 2006 $140.0 +28.4% Year-to-date gross Change (in billions) from 2006 $1.96 +7.

Meanwhile, Turtlemania has spread to the small screen. "We've had literally dozens of requests," says New Line Cinema marketing prez Sandra Ruch, for talk-show appearances by the turtles and their creators, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. "They're going to do as many as they can within reason," Ruch says, "but they're basically quiet and shy people who like to live quiet lives. This is all a little overwhelming."

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" co-creator Kevin Eastman has listed a house in West Los Angeles for $1.69 million. The contemporary Mediterranean, built in 2005, features high ceilings, archways, a bar with a wine refrigerator, four bedrooms and 21/2 bathrooms. French doors open to an enclosed front patio, a front-facing balcony and the backyard. Behind the house sits a saltwater pool, a flagstone deck, a pool house/office and lawn. The cobblestone driveway is gated. The comic book writer and artist's Ninja Turtles, created with collaborator Peter Laird, became a cartoon series starting in the late '80s.

Industry totals *--* Movie 3-day gross Total (mill.) Venues Avgvenue Weeks 1_TMNT (Warner $24.3 $24.3 3,110 $7,799 1 Bros./Weinstein ) 2_300 (Warner 19.9 161.7 3,280 6,056 3 Bros.) 3_Shooter 14.5 14.5 2,806 5,176 1 (Paramount) 4_Wild Hogs 13.9 123.3 3,401 4,072 4 (Disney) 5_The Last 10.0 10.0 3,017 3,323 1 Mimzy (New Line) 6_The Hills 9.7 9.7 2,447 3,958 1 Have Eyes 2 (Fox Atomic) 7_Premonition 9.6 31.7 2,831 3,378 2 (Sony) 8_Reign Over Me 7.5 7.5 1,671 4,465 1 (Sony) 9_Pride 3.5 3.

There's no "Cowabunga" this time around. That Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rallying cry and the rapid-fire one-liners have fallen by the wayside as the still-lean, still-green, nunchaku-wielding, pizza-eating terrapins return Friday for their fourth film installment. "We just wanted to present them in a more dignified light and make the movie an homage to the comics that spawned the Turtles," says "TMNT" director Kevin Munroe.