A Forgotten Dwayne Johnson Flop Is Dominating Netflix Today

Get the Full StoryParamount and Hasbro want to do something with the G.I. Joe franchise, they just can t seem to figure out what it is. The initial thought was that the studio and the toy company teaming up to create action-packed blockbusters would replicate the massive box office success of Michael Bay s Transformers, but it hasn t exactly gone to plan.

Stephen Sommers The Rise of Cobra was essentially a live-action Team America without a hint of the irony, one that was largely panned by critics and just about scraped past the 300 million mark in theaters, which isn t great when you consider the 175 million budget. Recruiting self-proclaimed Franchise Viagra Dwayne Johnson was a smart move, with John M. Chu s Retaliation making almost 75 million more and costing less for good measure.

Reviews were just as lukewarm, though, and the profit margins still weren t anywhere close to what the studio was hoping to see. It s a big, loud, dumb action movie, so there s at least some late night or weekend entertainment to be found, which probably explains why Retaliation has rocketed up the Netflix most-watched list, having recently cracked the Top 20.

A sequel was floated as a possibility, and the nonsensically-titled Ever Vigilant is still technically in development, but prequel spinoff Snake Eyes arrives later this year, while a streaming series focusing on Lady Jaye was announced last week. Whether audiences asked for it or not, there s plenty more G.I. Joe content on the horizon, and maybe one of the two upcoming projects will finally turn the property into the money-spinner that the higher-ups are desperate to see it become, but one more flop and it could be the end of the line for the elite military unit.

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