As is the case with pretty much every major holiday weekend, Easter Weekend is also typically a strong weekend at the box office. Three new films cracked the top 10 this weekend, including the “G.I. Joe” sequel, Tyler Perry’s new film and the latest film from Stephenie Meyer, the creator of “Twilight.”

Dethroning “The Croods” and taking the top spot for the weekend was Paramount’s “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” with $40.5 million. While this opening gross is less than the $54.7 million earned from the first film, this film should be more profitable than its predecessor, mainly because of its smaller production budget ($130 million versus $175 million) and larger growth in foreign markets.

What’s especially interesting with this film is how Paramount’s decision to delay its release affected its box office gross. The film was originally set to be released last June; however, Paramount made the decision to delay the release nine months in order to convert the film to 3-D and edit it to add more scenes of star Channing Tatum, who gained immense popularity after his roles in “21 Jump Street” and “Magic Mike” last year.

Additionally, had the film been released in its originally scheduled spot, it would have faced enormous competition from other high-profile comic book adaptations like “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” Thus, Paramount’s strategic delay proved successful because it made “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” the first blockbuster of 2013. The film will most likely maintain profitability for the coming weeks, until the next high-profile comic book adaptation, “Iron Man 3,” hits theaters May 3.

Coming in third was Tyler Perry’s newest film, “Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor,” with $21.6 million. Tyler Perry’s most successful films include him cross-dressing to play the character Madea, so it’s understandable why critics would be skeptical about how audiences would respond to another non-Madea film.

Skepticism aside, the opening figure exceeded expectations, and studio Lionsgate should be happy with the opening weekend gross considering the film only cost $22 million to produce. This continues Perry’s streak at the box office and marks his 10th film that has opened to over $20 million.

Although Stephenie Meyer may not be a recognizable name, her work certainly is as the author of the bestselling “Twilight” series. While the series of “Twilight” films ended late last year with “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” Meyer continues to have her other, less notable works converted to theatrical films. Her newest release, “The Host,” opened in sixth place with $10.6 million.

The opening gross is disappointing and even more surprising, given Meyer’s immense fan base from “Twi-Hards” around the world. There’s really not much to say about the film other than that audiences clearly did not embrace it. Perhaps Meyer should start thinking of new ideas to continue her beloved franchise.

—Written by Ian Tecklin, staff writer, ijteckli@syr.edu

Published on April 4, 2013 at 12:28 am