Over the past week or so, it seems every article I’ve read on the Los Angeles Times website has been roasting the film, harassing Paramount, or making other snide or scoffing comments about recent decisions and process regarding G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA. Today, the LA Times posted another online article, about the Box Office Returns, and actually gave Paramount and G.I. Joe some credit:
“Given the movie’s $175-million production budget, that would be a solid start and, assuming audience word-of-mouth is strong, put it on track for a healthy box office run. According to market research firm CinemaScore, opening day moviegoers gave “G.I. Joe” a grade of B+, once again contradicting the view of critics, as they did on Paramount’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” That would seem to validate the studio’s strategy to not screen the picture for print and broadcast critics before it opened and to focus much of the marketing at blue-collar audiences in smaller markets.”
Good to see at least a slight shift in perspective. Hopefully G.I. Joe’s final tallies are enough to make a lot of the pundits rethink their slamming of Paramount. But I doubt it.