EXCLUSIVE: With the new animated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Paramount has vibrantly revived the near 40-year-old Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird-conceived comic IP for another generation: As the pic barrels toward $100M at the global box office, Deadline hears from sources that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand is heading toward $1 billion+ in global retail sales.
By the way, that’s for 2023 YTD alone, all built by Paramount.
As we told you, the launch of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reps a big win for the Brian Robbins-lead Paramount Pictures Studios, as the studio boss builds out and breathes new lives into franchises.
Since 2012 and not including 2023, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles global merchandise sales have amassed $8 billion per industry sources. This was accomplished during Paramount’s ownership of the TMNT IP which they first acquired in 2009.
Paramount transitioned the Turtles business from predominantly collectors to mass retail, and natch, the pic’s reboot has catapulted an overwhelming demand from TMNT fans and partners alike. In U.S./Canada alone, industry projections think Mutant Mayhem, a co-production with Nickelodeon and Seth Rogen’s Point Grey, could exceed $110M.
Paramount Consumer Products’ Turtles theatrical program was their most ambitious yet, counting north of 400 licensees for the film and 1,100 total for the franchise.
Among those platinum licensees with Turtles merchandise tied to Mutant Mayhem were Playmates, Hasbro, Mattel, Crayola, Funko, Crocs, General Mills and more. Such product hit the global store shelves of Walmart, Target, Amazon, Macy’s, Kroger, Kohl’s, Primark, Smyths, The Entertainer, Soriana, Big W, Iden, Toys R Us, Mercado Libre and others.
In addition to action figures, the Mutant Mayhem product range also included Build-a-Bear.
In sum, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles products are available in more than 550 retailers, totaling 40,000 retail doors, in over 220 markets worldwide.
Gaming integrations for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles included Minecraft, The Sims FreePlay, Fruit Ninja, Match Masters and more. Publishing partnerships included Random House, Bendon and IDW. There was a launch of TMNT: Battle Tycoon on Roblox from ParaG Game Division in partnership with Gamefam.
Paramount Global delivered over a half billion impressions for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles across domestic CBS, adult networks and social. TMNT marathons aired across domestic Nick channels in addition there were marketing and activations across all foreign platforms. A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles YouTube channel was launched, which now counts 2.66M subscribers. Paramount’s PlutoTV showcased iterations of the TMNT 2012, 2019 and 1987 series.
Eastman announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Paramount and Nick secured full rights to air the original cartoon series from the 1980s. Speaking of Comic-Con, Paramount was the only studio to have the guts to take a film down to Hall H and strut out footage for fans with director Jeff Rowe. Such a promotional opportunity was lost by rival motion picture studios who shied away from the fanboy confab during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes with a majority of talent unavailable to promote. Still, 135K attendees showed up at SDCC.
Meanwhile, Paramount+ streaming service featured the full collection of TMNT with four series and eight movies in U.S., Canada, UK, Aus, Latam, Brazil, Italy, FR, GSA, South Korea. There was more vertical integration power across the Viacom empire for Mutant Mayhem with the pic’s promotion at Nickelodeon resorts and attractions around the world in the U.S., UK and Italy.
Separately, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem counted a promotional partner campaign worth north of $100M in media value from myriad brand partners and drawing 3 billion impressions, robust for an animated movie. And that’s without a big automobile advertiser. Earlier this summer, Disney/Marvel Studio’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 counted a $118M promo partner campaign; that being for a live-action title.
Among the notable brand partners for Mutant Mayhem were Pizza Hut. The team-up involved animators authentically integrating Pizza Hut into the movie. Pizza Hut also blasted off a 360-degree TMNT campaign by bringing back the fan favorite Big New Yorker pizza and supported that limited time menu with activations across linear and digital platforms within the Paramount portfolio. There were four media spots including a 30-second custom animated spot. In addition, there were custom pizza boxes featuring an AR mobile gaming experience. There were also TMNT co-branded Pizza Vans that passed out pizza to fans at San Diego Comic-Con and other high-profile events across the country. Twenty-two international markets featured bespoke local spots, advertising, delivery stunts and limited-edition pizzas inspired by the movie, like the Mutagen Pizza in Australia.
The XBOX global campaign counted the first time-ever innovation of pizza-scented video game controllers with custom designs featuring each of the pic’s four heroes in a half-shell. Influencers led a campaign which was a “retweet and win sweepstakes” that went viral across the web. In addition, Xbox executed a TMNT fan event at their NYC Microsoft flagship store on 5th Ave on the pic’s opening day which included movie content via storefront billboards and a TMNT-themed gaming lounge with controllers on display. There was also a collaboration between TMNT and Pizza Hut for an apparel collection available at Primark.
Turtles eat bugs, hence P&G’s Zevo flying insect traps proved an ideal partner. It was the product’s first film partnership ever. The campaign featured a fully integrated 30-second spot that aired across linear and digital media platforms.
Among the local international highlights there was Old El Paso’s “Ninja-Proof Tortilla Pockets” in UK and France which saw 1.2 Million themed packs in 20K major supermarket locations and on Amazon.
Brazil’s Gol Airlines let fans “Fly In Mutant Time” onboard a fully customized Mutant Mayhem plane. The stunt was promoted in major airports, print and online.
Chargespot, the largest charging station brand in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan, called on teens and young adults to “Get Charged” at 27K customized charging stations.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem grossed $15.2M this past weekend at the domestic B.O., repping a nice -45% ease for a 12-day running total of $72.3M. Through seven movies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has grossed over $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office.