TMNT made a statement in its opening weekend — the mean green machine is back and ready to recapture its place in pop culture. Well, it may not have been that strong, but it did decidedly take the weekend's top spot over from 300. The animated action film brought a new look Ninja Turtle to the fore, delivering more than this viewer was expecting. 300 held the top spot for two weeks, and while it did slip out of the top slot, it still pulled in a good chunk of change. It will be interesting to see if these two films have the legs to stick it out as competition begins to get heavier.

300 is poised to join an elite group, the mere handful of R-rated films to crack the $200 million mark. It already has the best ever March opening, and the best ever spring opening, in addition to having the third best opening for an R-rated film. To cross the $200 million barrier would put it in the company of Passion of the Christ, Beverly Hills Cop, Saving Private Ryan, and Wedding Crashers. It needs less than $40 million to get there, and at the pace it is going, it should have no problem reaching that mark. Whatever its final tally is, the studio has to be ecstatic, as this has to be more than they ever expected from a stylized sword-and-sandal film with no stars.

This week featured a rather wholesale swap of films in the top ten. There were six new films released wide this weekend, and all six of them found their way into the top ten. They were led by the aforementioned TMNT, which is a wonderful new turn for the '80s icons. It was followed by Shooter, in third place. That was an exciting, straightforward thriller; it was good, sort of like Bourne Supremacy lite. A couple more spaces down and you will find the unlikely pairing, at five and six, of the family film The Last Mimzy, which I have not yet seen, and The Hills Have Eyes II, which I have. It may be a rather cliched horror film, but it does deliver the goods in the form of blood and tension. The final two came in eight and nine — the films are Reign Over Me and Pride, respectively. The former is an emotional film that will leave you drained, as well as giving you a new look at Adam Sandler. The latter I have not yet seen.