‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ wins Easter weekend

The box office for the 2013 Easter weekend was carried on the brawny shoulders of Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum.

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation� handily won the weekend with a three-day gross of $41.2 million and a total four-day take of $51.7 million, according to an estimate from distributor Paramount Pictures.

Also aiding the weekend’s totals was the animated family-friendly film “The Croods,� from Dreamworks Animation, which pulled in $26.5 million in its second weekend in release. Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, the 3-D caveman flick dropped only 39%, for a two-week total of an estimated $88.6 million.

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Meanwhile, Tyler Perry continued his solid track record at the box office, grossing an estimated $22.3 million for his film “Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor,� which centers on a love triangle gone wrong and features the stunt casting of Kim Kardashian. Yet the other new wide release of the frame, Open Road’s “The Host,� wasn’t able to capitalize on “Twilight� author Stephenie Meyer’s brand, with her first non-�Twilight� property disappointing with only an estimated $11 million in ticket sales.

Despite the impressive debut of “G.I. Joe,� from director Jon Chu (“Step Up 3D�), total ticket sales were up less than 1% compared with last year at this time, which wasn’t Easter weekend, according to Hollywood.com. Receipts are still down 12% for the year, and attendance is off 13%, according to the box-office tracker.

Paramount’s gamble of delaying the release of “G.I. Joe� from last summer to allow extra time to convert it into 3-D appears to have paid off. Internationally, the movie has earned an additional $80.3 million, making it the biggest international opening of the year, according to Megan Colligan, Paramount’s president of domestic marketing and distribution.

The $130-million actioner -- financed by Paramount, MGM and Skydance -- was well-liked by audiences, primarily young men, who assigned it an average grade of A-, according to market research firm CinemaScore. The movie is the second-highest Easter weekend grosser, behind 2010’s “Clash of the Titans,� which opened to $61 million despite being maligned by critics for its hasty 3-D conversion.

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Paramount delayed the release of “G.I. Joe� for the same reason but a combination of time and improved technology rendered the post-production 3-D conversion conversation obsolete.

Said Colligan of the conversion: “It’s a pain-staking process to do correctly but when it is, it’s a very satisfying experience. It’s also important if you conceive of things in 3-D going into it and Jon did. There are a lot of action set pieces that lent itself to be amplified in 3-D.�

“Temptation� marks Perry’s 9th directorial effort to debut with a gross of more than $20 million and the second film of the multi-hyphenate to not feature his cross-dressing character Madea. Made for $20 million, “Temptation� received an A- from Cinemascore, from Perry’s typical audience, women over 25.

“The Host� from writer/director Andrew Niccol (“Gattaca�) didn’t fare well with critics or audiences. Starring Saoirse Ronan as a girl battling with a foreign body inside of her, the film was lampooned by critics and earned a B- with audiences.

ALSO:

‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ director’s wait is over

‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ needs its own rescue mission

Review: ‘The Host’ limps along as alien tale fails to generate heat

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