Paramount is moving G.I Joe: Retalliation from June 29 to next year, setting a date of March 29, 2013.
At the same time, it’s converting the movie to 3D.
Paramount sources say that for the studio to recoup its sizeable investment in the movie, a 3D conversion needs to happen and it wants to make sure the conversion is done right. The studio is pointing to the recent 3D version of James Cameron’s Titanic as a success story.
Still, the move is based on a Hasbro toy line, and some might blame the move on the disappointing box office of Universal's Battleship, the adaptation of the Hasbro board game that opened to just $25.5 million domestic last weekend. Paramount's first G.I. Joe movie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, grossed $300 million worldwide in 2009. But the high cost of studio tentpole movies now requires big-budget releases to gross more than that.
“(Battleship) reminds you that if you don’t do it right, you’re screwed,” says one insider.
More to come.
