Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 20 Yrs Later: A Lean Green Franchise

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It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' debut and yet it was 20 years ago today (March 30) that the Turtles made their live-action and big screen debut.

The comic book, which debut in 1984, was first adapted in 1987 as a syndicated cartoon series. The comic was a dark satire of the ulta-violent comic books of the day. a la Frank Miller and Alan Moore. The cartoon series, however, was silly and very kid-friendly and an instant hit.

You'd think that Hollywood would rush to make a live-action theatrical version, but it was instead legendary Hong Kong producer Raymond Chow who was looking for a big American hit. Made with a low-budget ($13.5 million) and helmed by music video director Steve Barron, the movie had low-expectations.

New Line Cinema, the distributor, released the film in March. In 1989, Tim Burton's Batman, a ground-breaking movie in the comic book adaptation genre, ruled the boxoffice and so they turned to another classic hero to replicate that success - Dick Tracy with Warren Beatty, Madonna, and Al Pacino. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Boxoffice

The film opened at #1 with $25.3 million and remained at the top spot for 4 weeks. At the end of its run it grossed $135.2 million domestically (#5 for the year) and $201.9 million worldwide (#9 for the year).

With its low-budget and high merchandise revenue it was the year's most profitable movie. Meanwhile, Dick Tracy had to settle for $103.7 million domestically and $162.7 million worldwide on a $47 million budget.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was dark and violent yet silly and funny. There was something for every TMNT fan. Plus, the Turtles' costumes and puppetry by Jim Henson were better than CGI.

Paramount, which recently purchased the franchise for $60 million, is developing a new movie. Hopefully they'll look back at this film and understand why it worked and why the sequels didn't.