Film delays are inevitable, but they generally occur months
before the film's scheduled release. Not so with G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
If you haven't heard, the release date had been June 29 but is now March 29th"¦2013.
Yes, that's a nine month delay. What rumpus is that? The official reason has
something to do with adding 3-D to the film (gag me), but scuttlebutt is that
Paramount doesn't want G.I. Joe: Retaliation to be the next John
Carter (a very expensive flop in the U.S. market). Paramount's
hoping that the timing delay, added 3-D elements, and the return of Channing
Tatum will bolster the film's box office earnings. However, someone somewhere
clearly hasn't thought everything through.
I can understand wanting to change the release date by a week; after all, Magic
Mike, a film also starring Channing Tatum, albeit as a male stripper, is also
set for release on June 29. It doesn't make sense to have soldier Channing
Tatum competing against stripper Channing Tatum "“ and it doesn't take a
scientist to realize which one would win. Tatum's sudden surge in popularity,
thanks in large part to 21 Jump Street and The Vow, makes him extremely
valuable to the G.I. Joe film franchise, particularly since he was a
main character in the first film. Killing him off early in the film, per the shot
script, is now a very regrettable move and one that Paramount intends to
rectify. This calls for some further
contract negotiations, lengthy reshoots of several scenes that will now feature
Tatum within the mix, and ultimately a lot more money.
Despite the (fuzzy) logic behind Paramount's decision, there
are plenty of other factors to bring to light that aren't directly tied to the
actual film. Remember that trailer during the Super Bowl? How many millions of
dollars was that? Oh, and all the merchandise and toys specifically made for
this film's release"”what about those? They have to be stored in a warehouse
now, and hopefully none of the packaging mentions a specific release date. The
initial advertising campaign for the June release will have to be pulled and
retooled for March, particularly since Tatum's not getting offed and will
actually have a role now, which means he needs to actually end up on ads and
posters. This delay is seriously a long line of dominoes that basically lead to
G.I. Joe: Retaliation costing more money in an effort to make money. Ah,
irony.
