Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem debuted in theaters last month, and the film impressed both critics and audiences with 96% and 90% Rotten Tomatoes ratings respectively. On Monday, Paramount took to its Twitter account to announce that the film will make its streaming debut on Paramount Plus the following day.
Unfortunately, despite a solid debut, the audience and critics’ enthusiasm did not carry over to its box office earnings as it only managed to gross $167.5 million against its $70 million budget, likely triggering this release. The company announced the film will be available for Paramount Plus subscribers in the United States and Canada only, with other markets gaining access at a later date.
This news shocks many of us given Mutant Mayhem made its theatrical debut a little over a month ago. Nevertheless, we can’t fault the studio’s decision. Given the film’s poor performance at the box office, the best decision anyone could have made is to give it a chance on another platform. In this case, that platform is Paramount Plus.
embrace the ooze 🧪 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is now streaming on #ParamountPlus in the US and Canada 🐢 #TMNTMovie pic.twitter.com/aAaU2EcXGf
— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) September 19, 2023
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is one of the biggest media franchises in the world. The IP began as a comic series in 1998 but has since grown to include toys, animated series, feature films – both animated and live-action, and video games.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles played a great influence in the lives of the last generation and the generation before that. Now, the cycle is set to begin again with the release of the latest film adaptation titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, bringing a whole new wave of Turtles fans on board.
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem tells the coming-of-age story of four anthropomorphic mutant turtles – Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. The turtles have been sheltered from the human world all their lives and long to be a part. However, they worry they won’t be accepted.
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem is a story of how they gained that acceptance and became proper heroes. Even though the film features animals, albeit anthropomorphic ones, its coming-of-age story draws parallels with that of humans.
Given the overwhelming approval the film enjoyed, it is a shame it performed so poorly at the box office. However, we doubt Paramount would consider it a failure since 2023 has largely been a year of box office failures. Even the big blockbusters, like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Flash, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One all failed to light up theaters.
Before TMNT: Mutant Mayhem made its debut, Paramount greenlit a sequel and a spinoff television series titled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, with the film’s poor performance, we are not so sure they will go ahead with the sequel.
Given Paramount is pressing ahead with the series – the company recently announced a 2024 release for the show – we are optimistic that the TMNT: Mutant Mayhem sequel is still in the works, much as the current strikes in the industry allow.
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem is now streaming on Paramount Plus. You can also buy or rent the DVDs at any film store close to you.
