Top Story: As Critics Choice Awards Announce Nominees, Consensus Forms In Feature Animation Awards Race
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

The digital version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will be available to buy or rent on demand starting tomorrow, just 30 days after its theatrical debut on August 2.

Many sources had previously reported that the film would be available on September 5 but without citation. Today, Paramount Home Entertainment officially announced that the actual PVOD release date will be September 1.

Thirty days is a quick turnaround for a film that scored well with critics and audiences and opened with solid box office figures. In comparison, Pixar’s Elemental hit theaters on June 16 and wasn’t made available for digital download until August 15, nearly a two-month window. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse got its theatrical release on June 2 and didn’t hit PVOD until August 8, just over two months.

Mutant Mayhem performed well out of the gate and has had decent, although not spectacular, legs in the weeks since. Last weekend, it was still number five at the domestic box office and made $7.3M, only a 14.6% drop from the previous week. The film also passed the $100 million milestone at the domestic box office this week, an impressive return for a feature that only cost $70M to make.

Add in the film’s $37M overseas haul, and Mutant Mayhem has nearly doubled its production budget at the box office. According to Deadline, the Turtles franchise has already generated $1B in global retail sales in 2023. It’s clear that any calculation of Mutant Mayhem’s profitability should consider several factors, including its PVOD revenues. Perhaps that’s one reason for the short exclusive theatrical window.

Those who purchase the digital version of the film will get access to more than 40 minutes of bonus content, including:

  • “TEENage Mutant Ninja Turtles”: For the first time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are voiced by actual teenagers. This bonus material tells the story of how each Turtle was cast and how having all four boys record together helped create the authentic camaraderie seen on screen.
  • “The Mutant Uprising”: An introduction to the Turtles’ mutant antagonists, led by Superfly.
  • “New York, New York: The Visual World of MUTANT MAYHEM”: A deep dive into the visual style of the film’s characters and environments and how they evolved over time.
  • “Learn to Draw Leo”: A tutorial on drawing the sword-wielding turtle.

Mutant Mayhem was directed by Jeff Rowe and written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Rowe. The film was produced by Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Pictures, Image Comics, and Point Grey Pictures. Animation was handled by Mikros Animation and Cinesite Vancouver.

Latest News from Cartoon Brew