Despite terrible reviews overall, enough people went to see G.I. Joe: Retaliation last weekend that Paramount, the studio behind the franchise, has greenlit G.I. Joe 3 .
Variety reports that Paramount has already approved G.I. Joe 3 after Retaliation mopped up at the box office Easter weekend. The film grossed $41 million over that time and $51 million since opening on Thursday. Worldwide, the film has brought in $132 million thus far .
Overall, Retaliation is performing extremely well, especially in light of the film’s production problems and long delays. Reportedly, the delay was due to poor audience reception of the first cut, with the studio commissioning more scenes to be shot between Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson’s characters. Director John Chu denied this claim, instead saying that the nine month delay was for 3D conversion.
Anyone who has seen the film knows what becomes of Tatum’s Duke, anyway.
Retaliation’s opening weekend was less than that of its predecessor, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but if it keeps its current pace, it will surpass the $303 million worldwide gross of the first film and end up somewhere in the $410 million range.
Still, Paramount’s decision to approve G.I. Joe 3 might be a bit too soon. Poor word of mouth has destroyed strong opening films in the past, and with the poor reviews Retaliation is getting, it might not be out of the woods yet.
Review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes reports that G.I. Joe : Retaliation has an approval rating of 29 percent among critics , with the consensus being “Though arguably superior to its predecessor, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is overwhelmed by its nonstop action and too nonsensical and vapid to leave a lasting impression.”
Still, audiences have been more forgiving of the film, handing it a 62 percent overall approval rating. Time will tell if that continues to be the case.
By comparison, 34 percent of critics approved of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra while audience approval was the same at 62 percent.
Did you see G.I. Joe: Retaliation? What did you think? Are you looking forward to G.I. Joe 3 ?