The Michael Bay-produced
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie grossed
$187M at the domestic box office and an additional
$154M at the foreign box office. The film's success has feuled an explosion in sales of pet turtles. The
CBC is reporting, sales of pet turtles has risen
20% since
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released in theaters this past August.
Steve Mark, who worked with the province's parks department told
CBC, "
Kids, with their imagination, are thinking if they got four of them maybe they'll turn into the ninja turtles." Mark saw the same boost in demand during the 1990's when the first
the first film adaptation was released.
On the downside, this rise in demand has led to a spike in illegal smuggling of the creatures. Mark believe 9 out of 10 turtles found in pet stores were acquired illegally. How lucrative can it be for smugglers? Mark said, "One example of a species I know sells for about $25 in the U.S. and sells for $600 up here." Recently, a man (Kai Xu) was charged with federal smuggling crimes after he was caught trying to cross from Detroit into Canada with 51 turtles tucked into his sweat pants.
The city needs heroes. Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April and her wise-cracking cameraman Vern Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder’s diabolical plan.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES directed by Jonathan Liebesman ("Wrath of the Titans"), and produced by Michael Bay ("The Rock"). The script was written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, based on characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The cast includes: Megan Fox as April O'Neil, Alan Ritchson as Raphael, Noel Fisher as Michelangelo, Danny Woodburn as Splinter, Jeremy Howard as Donatello, Pete Ploszek as Leonardo, Will Arnett as Vernon and William Fichtner as Shredder. It lands in theaters August 8, 2014.