Did the movie do as well as expected?

[neatoman]

$353.5 million for a budget of $125 million is not bad, not bad at all, but was the success Paramount had hoped for? It still made enough to warrant a sequel to be sure but look at the competition this year.

Guardians of the Galaxy, $687.6 million on a $170 million budget.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2, $709 million on a $200 million budget.
X-Men: Days of Future Past, $746 million on a $200 million budget.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, $714.1 million on a $170 million budget.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, $1.08 BILLION on a $210 million budget.

Again, the movie was hardly a failure, but do you think the studio got what they were hoping for?

[The Stryker]

It was projected before release to make about half of what it did.

So they're probably happy. But you ask any movie exec on any movie and they'll want more money. 1 billion? That's cool, 5 billion would be better though.

[Galactus]

I would argue it seemed obvious once they halted production and slashed the budget that Paramount knew this wasn't going to be a great success. This was further compounded by the lack of promotion for months or news released like you would get with a movie of this type. So I doubt anyone at Paramount was shocked or surprised by it's mediocre level of financial success as I'm sure by that point they were very prepared for it.

I think a better question is what did Paramount originaly expect when the aquired the franchise?

Bare in mind it was suggested at the time Viacom buying TMNT was so they had a comic book franchise like Warner Bros does with the DC heroes and Disney with the Marvel heroes. It seemed a direct reaction to losing the Marvel movies themselves. I'm sure they were looking for TMNT to be comparable to the first Iron Man movie.

I also don't think it's outlandish to suggest that going with Platinum Dunes with big names associated with Transfomers - another 80s franchise with what's seen to be a similar appeal they believed it would lead to Transfomers level money.

So while I believe they can't be surprised or that upset with the results I think there's more than a few execs that probably looked back at their projections back in 2010 and wonder how it ended up like this.

Obviously their marketing team are promoting this as a success, I'd say even announcing a sequel a week after was a promotional move. I don't doubt that a sequel is being talked about but I'm sure they are looking very seriously at what to do to better these numbers. After all as I've put forth in another thread if this movie goes a bit over making it's budget back then with propensity for sequels to go "bigger" in scale as well as suggestions they want to include more characters like Casey Jones and motion captured Bebop and Rocksteady it will require a bigger budget which means that if the next movie lands in the same ballpark then the next movie is selling at a loss ...and that's supposing it makes around the same. Given that a fair amount of people walked out very disapointed I don't think it should be taken for granted they'll be back for a sequel.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by neatoman

$353.5 million for a budget of $125 million is not bad

That's just the production budget. The marketing budget, for this, is almost assuredly an additional $70-100 million.

But when you factor in things like licensing deals (Pizza Hut, etc.) that probably took some of the edge off of the slim profit margin.

[CyberCubed]

Considering they already greenlit a sequel, I think its safe to say they were content.

[ranger_scout]

After its successful opening weekend, Paramount had this to say.

“To know moviegoers are embracing the Turtles with such enthusiasm is everything that we and all our filmmakers have been hoping for,” said Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey in a statement. “We are thrilled with this weekend’s result, the enduring power of this franchise, and the opportunity to make another one.”

“Launching a new take on the Turtles into the feature film world was a daunting task,” added Adam Goodman, president of Paramount’s Film Group, “because as fans of them ourselves, we felt a great responsibility to ensure audiences were going to experience everything they loved about the Turtles, while also getting to see them brought to life in a way they had never been seen before. The result exceeded our high expectations and the response to the film is beyond great, making it all the more fun to get started on the continuation of their story.”

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/08/1...urtles-sequel/

It has so far done better than the G.I. Joe films. The first film, Rise of the Cobra, made $302 million against a budget of $175 million. Home video sales helped officially green light a sequel. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will also soon surpass the worldwide total of the second G.I. Joe film, Retaliation, which made $375 million against a $130 million budget.

I expect the movie will make a pretty good amount of money during its run in the U.K. It's also being released in China at the end of this month. It stinks that Japan will have to wait to February 2015.

[Don77]

Originally Posted by Galactus

Bare in mind it was suggested at the time Viacom buying TMNT was so they had a comic book franchise like Warner Bros does with the DC heroes and Disney with the Marvel heroes. It seemed a direct reaction to losing the Marvel movies themselves. I'm sure they were looking for TMNT to be comparable to the first Iron Man movie.

Sorry, but you are not right. TMNT aren't that big as DC or Marvel and I don't think they thought it could be comparable with Iron Man. But TMNT surpassed GIJOE and for Paramount it can be the second biggest franchise after Transformers if they willing to put more efforts in sequels

[chrisdude]

Originally Posted by neatoman

$353.5 million for a budget of $125 million is not bad, not bad at all, but was the success Paramount had hoped for? It still made enough to warrant a sequel to be sure but look at the competition this year.

Guardians of the Galaxy, $687.6 million on a $170 million budget.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2, $709 million on a $200 million budget.
X-Men: Days of Future Past, $746 million on a $200 million budget.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, $714.1 million on a $170 million budget.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, $1.08 BILLION on a $210 million budget.

Again, the movie was hardly a failure, but do you think the studio got what they were hoping for?

None of those are really fair comparisons, because they all have franchise power behind them. Even Guardians.

As said before, they were likely cutting their losses when they reduced the budget. They may have been hoping for something comparable to the first Transformers film, but what they really wanted, and when everyone really wants, is a viable franchise. And that they do have. They're thinking long-term, from day one. What matters is whether or not the series will be a decent earner in the long run. They could drop the series, and try to start a new franchise, but then they would be back at film one, trying something new and hoping that it works. It's safer to just do a sequel, at this point.

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by Don77

Sorry, but you are not right. TMNT aren't that big as DC or Marvel and I don't think they thought it could be comparable with Iron Man. But TMNT surpassed GIJOE and for Paramount it can be the second biggest franchise after Transformers if they willing to put more efforts in sequels

I'm not right?

I think you mean Viacom was not right for seeking out TMNT for that purpose. They were looking for an intellectual property that appealed to the same demographics. Not just with movies but cartoons, action figures and various merchandising.

Although just for the sake of discussion; was it so crazy for them to think TMNT could operate on that level?

Well Transformers was not as big as Marvel or DC yet look how those movies have made billions.

The question for me isn't necessarily whether TMNT is as big as Marvel or DC as a whole (that's silly) but rather is TMNT as big as some of their individual franchises? I'd argue TMNT is definitely as known as a lot of the bigger Marvel or DC properties. In terms of recognisability they are almost as well known as the likes of Spider-Man and the X-Men etc.

Of course that's only part of the equation and one that's becoming more and more irrelevant. After all prior to the movie Iron Man was one of the lesser known Marvel properties yet that character was turned into their top solo hero. If a few years ago someone would have suggested that their top movie would be Guardians of the Galaxy you'd laugh in their face and yet here we are.

They may have been hoping for something comparable to the first Transformers film, but what they really wanted, and when everyone really wants, is a viable franchise. And that they do have. They're thinking long-term, from day one. What matters is whether or not the series will be a decent earner in the long run. They could drop the series, and try to start a new franchise, but then they would be back at film one, trying something new and hoping that it works. It's safer to just do a sequel, at this point.

Well there's the rub just how rosy is TMNT's future currently looking?

The idea that TMNT shouldn't be compared to any Marvel property fails when you have defenders of the movie pointing out that the current movie has done about the same as Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor.

The difference is that those two movies despite some criticisms were seen as generally good. No one really came out of either feeling as if they'd ruined the franchise or the movies were train wrecks like a lot of people did with TMNT. That made more people receptive to see both characters in further movies.

Unless something happens to convince people TMNT 2016 is a movie really worth seeing then I'd say it'll probably do similar numbers to the current movie and I don't think breaking even each time is really a solid business plan particularly if the movies become more expensive.

[HeroTurtlesFan]

Remember, the worldwide gross for the film hasn't even finished yet. It's JUST come out here in the UK, and I have a feeling it's going to do really well here.

[Pxndx]

Sweet the movie made money so therefore it's a sucess!

I'd rather wait 5-10 years and have them re-do everything the correct way. Rather than get a sequel to ... (This)...

[Autbot_Benz]

since you know it gonna happen I will leave this here

[Powder]

The thread is already over a month old, get over yourself, kid. Posting crap like that is only gonna encourage it, because you're instigating.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Autbot_Benz

since you know it gonna happen I will leave this here

http://i60.tinypic.com/2vmvz93.jpg

Well lets be fair here...

Originally Posted by Powder

The thread is already over a month old, get over yourself, kid. Posting crap like that is only gonna encourage it, because you're instigating.

...ok just linking so I don't feel too much like an instigator.

http://i.imgur.com/9BAvigB.jpg

[Shark_Blade]

They announced a sequel very early after release so yeah.

[Leo656]

The guys who did Amazing Spider-Man 2 announced, like, 5 sequels the same day the movie opened. Now at least half of 'em probably ain't happenin'. Juuuuust sayin'. Don't count your chickens, is all. Stuff can always change... and boy, wouldn't that be a shame...

That said, I know they probably will do a sequel to this POS just because they already proved they can put zero effort in and still make money. As long as the Buzzwords are all represented in the sequel - "April", "Pizza", "Turtle Van", "Bebop and Rocksteady" - people will lap it up and swear it's delicious, just like they did this time.

[Pxndx]

Originally Posted by Leo656

The guys who did Amazing Spider-Man 2 announced, like, 5 sequels the same day the movie opened. Now at least half of 'em probably ain't happenin'. Juuuuust sayin'. Don't count your chickens, is all. Stuff can always change... and boy, wouldn't that be a shame...

That said, I know they probably will do a sequel to this POS just because they already proved they can put zero effort in and still make money. As long as the Buzzwords are all represented in the sequel - "April", "Pizza", "Turtle Van", "Bebop and Rocksteady" - people will lap it up and swear it's delicious, just like they did this time.

Great observation . I agree.

Yes when you accept a bad movie and it still makes money . I mean seriously you just.. You won't ever understand it. Just think if some thought it was okay to dump garbage on to your front lawn but nobody told them to stop the first time. Then they're like okay do it a second time. That's what the sequel means to some of us . Just an opinion you might think it was awesome
That's why we are all are entitled to have an opinion

[IndigoErth]

The next one will be interesting to see what happens in terms of viewership. Figure with this first one, they left the public relatively in the dark until fairly late and being the first it's hard to even know what to expect, so I'm not surprised it did fairly well, what with people wanting to see what this was about for better or worse. They shouldn't pat themselves on the back too eagerly though, not with people having a feel for it now and a better ability to decide on seeing the next one or not.

Even smash hits flop sometimes at the second. Case in point, I'm surprised How to Train Your Dragon 2 supposedly did not do so well... you just never know I guess.

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

The next one will be interesting to see what happens in terms of viewership. Figure with this first one, they left the public relatively in the dark until fairly late and being the first it's hard to even know what to expect, so I'm not surprised it did fairly well, what with people wanting to see what this was about for better or worse. They shouldn't pat themselves on the back too eagerly though, not with people having a feel for it now and a better ability to decide on seeing the next one or not.

Depends. The prospect for this I think is going to depend on who is playing Casey Jones. I doubt we're going to be getting a no name. And Casey Jones might be to the TMNT what the Joker is to Batman, in that he brings butts in the seats. Maybe, maybe not.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Warhorse

Depends. The prospect for this I think is going to depend on who is playing Casey Jones. I doubt we're going to be getting a no name. And Casey Jones might be to the TMNT what the Joker is to Batman, in that he brings butts in the seats. Maybe, maybe not.

Knowing Bay & Co though, lord knows who'd they even have in mind... If they have any sense at all they'll choose wisely. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was an awkward choice for the sake of trying to be different.