'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' shocks and awes with $40 million weekend

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is having the last laugh.
After Paramount moved the release date from last summer to this March, many in
the industry suspected they were trying to salvage a stinker. Instead, G.I. Joe:
Retaliation earned $41.2 million over the weekend, and
$51.7 million since its
Thursday opening. The budget for the follow-up feature
was slightly lower, yet including the overseas totals, the movie is already
pacing ahead of the 2009 original. The studio's decision to convert the feature
to 3D also paid off: 45% of tickets sold were for 3D showings, which is better
than many other recent films, including The Croods.

The Easter weekend was also kind to Tyler Perry. His film Temptation:
Confessions of a Marriage Counselor opened to $22.3 million
and received high marks from its older female, African-American viewers. The
general critical community, however, was not impressed. Perry is definitely a
workhorse, and though he's never had the kind of massive hits of Steven
Spielberg or Robert Zemeckis, he joins their ranks by having nine films open
over $20 million. Perry's mix of romance, drama, and humor has thrived with little variation at the box office--talk about evergreen returns.

If only young adult sci-fi romances were so predictable. The Host,
which came courtesy of none other than fantasy-romance queen bee Stephenie
Meyer, who wrote the Twilight series and produced this adaptation of
her book, showed that teen girls are picky--and fickle. It's the latest twist
on the genre to be greeted by a tepid reaction at the box office. That's what
happened to Beautiful Creatures, which recently opened to $7.5
million. The
Host did slightly better, debuting to $11 million,
but that's still nowhere near the original Twilight's $70 million opening. It's time for studios to look at other content that appeals to teen girls that doesn't recycle the same elements. That's what worked for The Hunger Games, and coming up with the next idea like that is what will lead to a billion-dollar franchise.

The Place Beyond the Pines averaged $67,000 per screen in four locations in NYC and LA. While critics found flaws in the movie, it does star Ryan Gosling, who has turned into a sort of tongue-in-cheek feminist icon and blog meme. There was also a spontaneous Ryan Gosling-themed Easter egg hunt that undoubtedly turned a few eyes near his work. Another specialty feature, The Shining documentary Room 237, got a good start with $18,000 per screen in two locations.

This Friday, the horror classic Evil Dead gets a reboot and the original Jurassic Park returns to theatres in 3D.

Will 'The Host' inherit the 'Twilight' audience?

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 comes out this Friday in over 4,000 theatres. Before the movie, audiences will see a trailer for The Host, which recently surfaced on the Internet. Like the Twilight series, the movie is based on a romance novel by Stephenie Meyer. Unlike Twilight, the book is not part of a franchise. The release date has been pushed back a few times, and distributor Open Road now plans to open the film March 29th. I think it's a smart decision to wait until the Twilight series has concluded to release the movie. Fans may not have prioritized seeing The Host just before or after a Breaking Dawn, but come March, they will be in Twilight withdrawal and welcome another adaptation of Meyer's work.

 

 

The sci-fi romance takes place in a future where alien parasites have taken over the bodies of all humans, turning the irises of their eyes bright blue. One girl, Melanie, (Saoirse Ronan of The Lovely Bones) manages to escape implantation, falling in love with a fellow human rebel (Max Irons, the son of Jeremy Irons). However, the girl is finally taken and the soul of an alien or "Wanderer" is put into her body. It doesn't take. Both souls are still alive in the body, and there ends up being a love triangle, as both Melanie and the Wanderer share the same love for the boy.

The trailer shows off some great special effects, especially the technology that "heals" an injured Melanie. While a lot of the narrative in The Host takes place inside the head of Melanie/Wanderer, the trailer, at least, fills in the gaps with voiceover and excerpted monologues. Will aliens have the same pull as vampires? Moreover, will Open Road successfully market the film and mobilize the Twilight audience?