The impression online about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Three has always been that it failed to pique audience interest with its niche plotline and lack of New York City landmarks. There was also a misconception that the third film did poorly at the box office, except that claim amounted solely to technicalities. Because while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Three failed to break even domestically, its worldwide gross amounted to a little over double the movie's initial budget. Typically, movies are only viewed as profitable when the return brings back more than the money invested in a project. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Three brought in enough and then some.
For the third chapter of live-action TMNT movies, its worldwide gross was around $42 million, with a budget of $21 million. That differential between costs and profit confirms that the movie did well overall. Similarly, there wasn't as much of a failure at the box office as it was a premature analysis of the results. Perhaps New Line Cinema only focused on the domestic turnout when determining whether or not the studio should develop a fourth film—because it was on the table for a time.
In all likelihood, New Line went in a different direction since the studio wanted its films targeted at North American audiences. That's the only explanation that makes sense when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Three brought in revenue equal to double the movie's initial budget. Multiplying investments would typically incentivize a studio to move forward with additional sequels. But, in situations where the revenue comes from an inconsistent market, there's little data to determine whether or not a future project will make the same impression.
Mind you, the proceeding TMNT movies had ups and downs. While few performed mediocrely at the box office, others made substantial impacts. TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, for example, had a budget of $70 million while it brought back a worldwide total of $180 million. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows took in one of the biggest draws at $245 million on a $82 million budget.
What that tells us is Paramount Pictures has loftier goals for the franchise. Doubling its investment wasn't enough, even when scaled up to equal today's box office measurements, so that's likely why Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Three didn't progress any further.
For those who are unaware, a fourth chapter almost came to be. TMNT IV would've been titled The Next Mutation, exploring the turtles' evolution into more beastly appearances. The story would've also gone in a different direction with its antagonists. Early concept art teased an evil Casey Jones and April O'Neil.
Fans hoping to see the fourth movie need to temper expectations. Plans for that film were shelved long ago, and with Mutant Mayhem's success, Paramount is unlikely to go back to making live-action films.
TMNT III is currently streaming on Fandango at Home.