Looks like the turtles in a half-shell will be returning after all. Though the box office totals for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have yet to be finished, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon are moving forward with a sequel. Variety was the first to report this news. In addition, there will be a two-season, 2D animated series that be will a bridge between the two movies. The exact details of the series have yet to be announced. Though, the new show will be called Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
A date has yet to be determined. Of course, if the latest version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles turns out to be a flop, then it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise if these ideas never come to fruition. The actors for the animated film – Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon – will return to voice their respective roles.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Film Is Generating Excellent Reviews
When the animated film was first announced in 2020, there were a lot of eye rolls in the studio trying to get the brand hot again. Though the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has found success on the small screen, the movie adaptations have struggled quite a bit. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films were never critical darlings.
That’s changed in a big way with the recent incarnations as Mutant Mayhem is currently holding a 98% on rotten tomatoes. This is the highest rating of the series thus far. The second highest-rated entry in the series is the first film that came out in 1990. That one holds a weak 41%.
Film critics are calling Mutant Mayhem “witty”, “smart”, “energetic”, and “funny”, with a new style of animation being a huge plus. The animated film takes some inspiration from the latest Spider-Man movies.
Box Office Projections For Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
The recent live-action TMNT films garnered the most from the series by banking nearly $700 million worldwide. TMNT made a solid $493.3 million worldwide. However, TMNT: Out of the Shadows made less, collecting a paltry $245.6 million. Any plans for a sequel were scrapped immediately once executives realized that audiences weren’t big fans of the live-action films with Megan Fox.
Domestically, the animated feature hasn’t blown the box office out of the water either. Mutant Mayhem opened shy of $30M, with the final total being $118 million worldwide so far. Of course, the film is still in theaters so it should collect more. However, if this number turns out to be less than $200 million then it will be considered a complete bomb. Mutant Mayhem needs at least $200 million to be profitable as the production costs for the film were in the $70M-$80M range.
Box Office Competition
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles doesn’t have much competition going forward. Spider-Man: Across the Universe is no longer in theaters and it was the final animated project of the season. Barbie and Oppenheimer are stealing everyone’s thunder, but Mutant Mayhem is a nice counterbalance.
The Meg 2: The Trench and Blue Beetle haven’t done so well in theaters as well. Neither share the same demographic, but those were the films most likely to eat up Mutant Mayhem’s box office. TMNT is in an interesting spot where remakes and sequels aren’t having the best of luck this past summer.
Across the Universe and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are the rare exceptions. On the flip side, Fast X, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Flash, and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning have surprisingly underwhelmed at the box office. This is the fourth reboot of TMNT. Though the reviews are strong, it may end up having the same fate as the movies mentioned above.
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