Thursday Night Report: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’ Takes $2.0M; ‘Me Before You’ Strong w/ $1.4M; ‘Popstar’ Flat w/ $322K

Friday Update: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows bowed to an estimated $2.0 million on Thursday night domestically. That figure marks a 56.5 percent drop from the 2014 predecessor’s $4.6 million Thursday night launch, which opened in early August. As an additional comparison, last night’s debut came in below the $2.7 million Thursday of last summer’s Fantastic FourShadows should prove less front-loaded than the latter film due to even stronger appeal among families with kids, but it does offer a low-end range for weekend expectations. A sub-$30 million opening weekend looks highly likely at the moment.

Coming in with a strong debut last night was Me Before You with $1.365 million. The romantic drama adaptation is riding the popularity of the book in hopes to become a leggy date night option at the box office early in the summer. Last night’s take was 116 percent stronger than last year’s The Longest Ride ($630,000) and slightly behind Paper Towns ($1.5 million). Weekend projections will firm up after Friday’s full numbers are in tomorrow.

Meanwhile, despite surprisingly positive reviews, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping took in an underwhelming $322,000 last night. That’s 42.5 percent less than Keanu, but 34 percent ahead of The Brothers Grimsby. An opening weekend in the mid-single-digit millions is expected.

Complete Friday estimates from the studios and early weekend estimates will be published on Saturday morning.