USA FAIL! G.I. Joe Tops the Box Office.

I think I’m gonna move to France…. And wasn’t G.I. Joe some dude, ala James Bond but American, with a beard and had kung-fu grip?

Paramount’s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” accomplished its mission Friday in posting the highest opening for an August non-sequel with a remarkable $22.3 million off 4,007 engagements. Most of August’s biggest openers in recent years, i.e. Universal’s “The Bourne Ultimatum,” New Line’s “Rush Hour 2” and Disney’s “Signs” typically clear the $20 million mark on their first day before posting a weekend take of at least $60 million. By Sunday, “G.I. Joe” looks to not only be part of that pack, but to own the third highest opening record in August behind “Bourne Ultimatum” ($69.3 million) and “Rush Hour 2” ($67.4 million).

In an effort to sidestep the bad reviews which its previous tentpole “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” received earlier in the summer, Paramount decided against screening “G.I. Joes” to critics, rather chose to generate positive word of mouth by showing the pic to key fanboy journos.

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” earned a Cinema Score of A from males and females under 25 and a B from the same demo over 25, for an overall B+ score. The action pic based on both the comicbook series and the Hasbro action figure was co-produced by Spyglass Entertainment and producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura for a pricetag of $175 million.

- from Variety