Los Angeles - Just a month before its June release in the US, Paramount Pictures delayed the debut of G.I. Joe: Retaliation by nine months after another movie based on a Hasbro toy was trounced at the box office by The Avengers.
Paramount on Wednesday pushed back the release of the G.I. Joe sequel from 29 June until 29 March 2013, in order to adapt the movie for 3D screens, according to Paramount's executive vice president of publicity, Katie Martin Kelley.
Lack of strong buzz
The move comes after Battleship, based on the Hasbro board game, debuted at No 2 at the North American box office with $25.5m in ticket sales, behind the still-strong Avengers, which brought in $55.6m in its third weekend of release.
Action films often get most of their revenue from 3D showings, which cost a few dollars more per ticket and can boost a movie's prospects to make its money back.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation also suffered from a lack of strong buzz online, according to Ben Carlson, president of market tracking firm Fizziology.
The sequel stars Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki and South African actor Arnold Vosloo.Watch the latest G.I. Joe: Retaliation here:
- Channel24