Paramount Greenlights "Ninja Turtles 2" After $65 Million Weekend

With a $65 million opening weekend, the latest screen iteration of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" earned some comeuppance this weekend as well as a sequel.

The Hollywood Reporter has word that thanks to a higher than expected opening box office (the film is on pace to bring in $97.3 million with international ticket sales), Paramount has greenlit a second installment for the Kevin Eastman/Peter Laird characters.

For "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2," executive producer Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production shingle will return, as will screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec and presumable the full cast. However, the director of the second film is unclear at this point. Jonathan Liebesman helmed the current outing.

"Launching a new take on the Turtles into the feature film world was a daunting task because as fans of them ourselves, 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 president of Paramount’s film group, Adam Goodman. "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."

The sequel is set for June 3, 2016