'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' trades release dates for a happy ending this Easter

In Wednesday night screenings, G.I. Joe: Retaliation tallied up $2.2 million, a good sign for the sequel, which is expected to earn in the $40-45 million range over the weekend. This Sunday is Easter, and many kids have either this week or the next one off, meaning that the PG-13 picture will be able to pick up weekday audiences. That's one reason Paramount decided to move the release forward to
Thursday instead of Friday.

In another respect, the release moved way back. Originally, the follow-up to the 2009 G.I. Joe: Rise of COBRA was scheduled for a summer 2012 release. Then, as the star power of Channing Tatum rose, the studio scrambled to rework a plot that had Tatum dying at the end, which could have also could have spelled the end for the franchise's star power.

As people emerge from the churches on Good Friday or Holy Saturday, they could head right to the theatres for Temptation, which seems to be the preferred abbreviation for Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. The slightly darker turn for Perry includes a supporting performance by Kim
Kardashian. While that seemed like a bad idea back when she announced her divorce after a very short marriage, things change fast in the celebrity landscape. Pregnant and attached to new boyfriend Kanye West, her presence will likely add interest to the picture, which will have the strongest attendance among women and African-Americans.

Temptation will likely perform on par with The Host, with each earning around $20 million. Twilight author Stephenie Meyer
produced the sci-fi romance starring Saoirse Ronan, which is based on her book. However,  Twilight fans don't go gaga for just anything, and these are different characters and different romances. More modest returns are expected for this feature.

As the box office heats up again, there are also a couple of offerings for arthouse lovers. The documentary Room 237 offers hilarious and mind-boggling theories about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Ryan Gosling stars in the ambitious work from director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), The Place Beyond the Pines. Although the movie has been receiving mixed reviews, its ambition may still impress many viewers, even if the result doesn't quite reach those imagined heights.