Thursday, May 24, 2012

Why is GI Joe: Retaliation Running Scared from the Theaters?


G.I. Joe: Retaliation was a part this summer's blockbuster track. Well, that has changed. The sequel to the Hasbro toy line has been pushed back to March of 2013.

Nine months away.

Now, the interesting thing is why they are doing this. All of the promos, trailers, and hype Paramount has been doing lately is a waste. Millions were just thrown away, but for what?

Here's an explanation from Bleeding Cool

Hasbro, Inc (NASDAQ:HAS – News),and Paramount Pictures, announced today that G.I. JOE: RETALIATION will now be released in 3D. The film, originally slated for release in June 2012, is scheduled to be released March 29, 2013.
“It is increasingly evident that 3D resonates with movie-goers globally and together with Paramount, we made the decision to bring fans an even more immersive entertainment experience,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s President and CEO.
“In 2012, we continue to have several strong motion picture and television entertainment backed properties that are selling well at retail and our entertainment strategy remains strong and on-track,” Goldner said. “Through our own Hasbro Studios for television and in partnership with several movie studios including Paramount, Universal, Sony and Relativity, we are creating entertainment experiences around many of our highly popular iconic brands. For the full year 2012, we continue to believe, absent the impact of foreign exchange, we will again grow revenues and earnings per share.”
Notice how they are basically saying that it's all about the money... sad. Well, I don't buy this poppycock at all and here are my reasons:
  • 3D is not on the rise as before. Folks are finding 3D ridic and overrated. Besides, if you are pushing a film a year later just to put in the 3D effects, then it must be bad.
  • Battleship FAIL. Battleship is a Hasbro property and it failed big ass time. I think they feared another flop. 
  • The Avengers effect. Joss presented an action movie with a brain. G.I. Joe is an action movie with a brain on drugs.
  • The studio knows it doesn't stand a chance against Men In Black or The Dark Knight Rises. So it's basically running away.
  • Clash of the Titans effect. COTT made a lot of money, but folks regretted ever seeing. Then the sequel came out and the turnout was mediocre. So just like that, the sequel was quickly forgotten. The first G.I. Joe was also the same. It was painful to watch and once folks realized how bad it was, they never spoke of that mess again. I think they knew the sequel could've met the same fate. Perhaps, they will use this time to fix the whole film.
Hasbro should have thought of something else to say. This excuse they gave the public is poo-putt. They just need to be real about it.

Actually, they need to drop G.I. Joe and make the JEM film.

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Viktor is a small town southern boy living in Los Angeles. You can find him on Twitter, writing about pop culture, politics, and comics. He’s the creator of the graphic novel StrangeLore and currently getting back into screenwriting.