Box Office Analysis: Nostalgia Is More Powerful Than Any Weapon

This morning was a whirlwind of questions and wondering. It seems everybody wanted to know just how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had managed to hit $65.5 million in its own opening weekend. Many internet commentors proclaimed it to be the end of cinema as we know it. I've kind of been desensitized to such hyperbolic announcements, and frankly, I believe the success of this new Ninja Turtles incarnation is more of a testament to the power of nostalgia than anything else.

I think one would be surprised at how much certain stuff from ones childhood can hold up as an adult. Sure, some things I loved as a youngster like Pokemon don't hold up as well as one would think (On a similar note, I was never into it, but my brothers owe my parents millions upon millions of dollars for forcing them to sit through shows like iCarly) But movies like the classic Disney animated features from the 90's hold up even better today due to adult messages in films like The Hunchback of Notre Dame being more apparent to me at an older age. I'm sure kids from the 80's, growing up with movies like ET, Raiders of The Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back are pleased as punch to see those movies only getting better as they get older and realize the emotional ramifications those movies display (well, Raiders doesn't, but it's still a ton of fun!)

Programs like the original Transformers cartoon actually hold up reasonably well thirty years later, mainly because of the serialized storytelling they tell. I've got no idea if the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon similarly holds up, as I never got into the original TV shows or movies as a kid, and I've had no burning desire to see them since then (though I freely admit that the very first Ninja Turtles movie from 1990 actually sounds pretty good). People though apparently have great memories of the original cartoon, considering the vast amount of merchandising containing the mugs of the turtles from the 90's cartoon get sold every year.

That kind of happy memories leads to movie like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles doing so well. People see ads for it, and they know what they're getting into. Honestly, the average audience member for this movies main concern isn't story or directors, it's how the turtles act. Are they true to past versions? While many fans of the original Turtles cartoon have been on the internet relentlessly hounding on the movie for the past two years, but they make up only a small portion of the fanbase for this property. Just as the massive amount of positive internet buzz (sadly) didn't translate into record-breaking ticket sales for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, the negative internet buzz on this new Ninja Turtles was vastly outweighed by people who more than approved of it.

One interesting thing going forward is how the movie holds up from here. Nostalgia can get you a massive opening weekend, but once people actually saw it, the nostalgia bubble burst. Instead of being greeted with a fun cartoon or happy childhood memories, they were given some shoddy filmmaking, embarrassing screenwriting and a lot (and I do mean a lot) of Megan Fox. When me and a buddy of mine saw it on opening day, the reception after it was over was interesting; obviously, nobody booed or anything like that, but even the numerous kids seeing it were quiet. Nobody was quoting the movie or reliving action sequences, they just sort of shuffled out of the theater, eager to leave the movie behind. Happy memories may have gotten the Ninja Turtles a big opening, but I have a feeling more negative memories of this installment could curb future movies financial accomplishments.