Originally, GI Joe: Retaliation was supposed to hit theaters June 29th, 2012; however, due to the rising popularity of Channing Tatum and the need to convert the film into 3D, the studio pushed back the release date to March 29th, 2013. In efforts to remind people that the film still exists Paramount released a second international trailer for the action flick.
Paramount Rethinks ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’
Back in 2009, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra raked in an impressive $302.5 million at the box office. Despite the film receiving several mixed reviews, the general audience enjoyed the film for what it was. Three years later, and Paramount is struggling to return the film to the big screen. Unfortunately, they realized a bit too late that Tatum’s absence from 80% of the film wouldn’t fly with fans, even if you have two of action’s biggest stars — Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson — join the cast.
Paramount Feels the Pressure of 2012′s Tight Box Office
2012′s summer box office broke records left and right; The Avengers & The Dark Knight Rises rearranged cinema’s biggest films of all time; Ted now sits comfortably along side comedy’s best films; The Amazing Spider-Man & The Hunger Games kickstarted two franchise that are now moving full steam ahead..
Due to the tough economy and the number of anticipated films, any title that received mixed reviews saw a huge hit at the box office — Battleship, Total Recall, Rock of Ages, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. If it were any other year with less competition, these films would’ve added at least $10 – $25 million to their domestic gross. Unfortunately, the legs were weak and word of mouth didn’t help.
You could say that Paramount made the right move in pulling GI Joe: Retaliation from 2012′s summer roster; the film had a high chance of underperforming. Paramount saw what happened to the first Hasbro property, Battleship, and decided to make adjustments. Plus, the studio wanted to capitalize on Tatum’s success from Magic Mike & 21 Jump Street.
Since the announcement, director Jon Chu went back into production to add more scenes with Tatum, but judging from this new trailer you wouldn’t of realized it as the actor’s only featured in several shots. 60% of the footage in the new trailer we’ve seen from previous trailers and TV spots. They’ve cleared up the plot for us a bit more, but other than that it’s still GI Joe: Retaliation.
I actually think the film will do fine at the box office, especially with Willis & Johnson’s names attached. For Paramount to pull the film and re-release it for a 3D conversion looks greedy on their part. Will it hurt the franchise? Probably not, but we’ll have wait till March 29th, 2013 to find out.
Check out the trailer and be sure to leave a comment below.
‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ International Trailer
