‘Jackass Forever’ laughs its way to No. 1 at box of fice
NOT even a global pandemic or a 12-year hiatus could stop the Jackass guys at the box office. Jackass Forever, the fourth movie in the anarchic series earned $23.5 million in ticket sales in its first weekend in theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It not only exceeded expectations but also easily bested its other main competitors, the big budget sci-fi spectacle Moonfall and Spider-man: No Way Home, which has six of its eight weeks in theaters at No. 1.
Jackass Forever brings back Johnny Knoxville, Steve-o, Chris Pontius and Wee Man for another round of pranks, stunts and injuries, and has become the best-reviewed in the series. Playing on 3,604 screens in North America, Jackass Forever is on the lower end of Jackass openings, above only the first, which made $22.8 million in its opening weekend in 2002. The biggest opening of the series was the last one, Jackass 3D’s $50 million debut in 2010. But, costing only $10 million to produce, Jackass Forever is already a clear success for Paramount. The studio was predicting a launch in the mid-teens.
Men accounted for 68 percent of the R-rated Jackass Forever audience, which was 67 percent between the ages of 18 and 34.
“Both Scream and Jackass Forever had a very long lag time between installments and absence made the heart grow fonder for Jackass,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for comscore. “They’ve always done quite well. They don’t cost a lot to make and the communal nature of the theater elevates a comedy like Jackass.”
Moonfall, meanwhile, which cost around $140 million to produce, is not doing well stateside. Lionsgate estimated the film’s opening weekend grosses to be just over $10 million, which was in line with its projections. Directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson, Moonfall
was not well-received by critics. The disaster pic about a possible collision between the moon and the Earth holds a 40 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Like Jackass,
its audience was also mostly male (60 percent).
Moonfall was made and financed independently through Emmerich’s Centropolis Entertainment and foreign deals and, like many big budget disaster pics of this ilk, is supposed to earn most of its money internationally. Lionsgate only oversaw distribution in North America and its expected to be profitable for the studio.
Spider-man: No Way Home took in an additional $9.6 million in its eighth weekend in North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to $748.9 million. Globally, its earnings total $1.77 billion.
“Films that appeal to a younger audience have a much bigger potential for success [during the pandemic],” Dergarabedian said. “And the young male audience really seems like they want to go to the movie theater.”
In art house releases, Neon debuted The Worst Person in the World on four screens this weekend to $135,042. The Norwegian film about a young woman finding herself is shortlisted for an Oscar nomination (which will be announced on Tuesday), topped many critics’ best of lists in 2021, and has gotten a fair share of celebrity endorsements (from Nancy Meyers to Paul Thomas Anderson). Its per-theater average ($33,760) is the highest of 2022. Neon will add theaters in the coming weeks.
Though still far from a normal, pre-pandemic weekend, it did break a bit of a lull that will likely continue until The Batman opens on March 4.
“It’s not the biggest weekend ever but considering how quiet the marketplace has been, it’s very welcome,” said Dergarabedian.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comscore.
1. Jackass Forever, $23.5 million
2. Moonfall, $10 million
3. Spider-man: No Way Home, $9.6 million
4. Scream, $4.7 million
5. Sing 2, $4.2 million
6. The King’s Man, $1.2 million
7. Redeeming Love, $1 million
8. American Underdog, $800,000
9. The 355, $700,000
10. The Wolf and the Lion, $675,027.
A NIGHTMARE
YOU’D think this singer-actor has learned to be humble because he is no longer as popular as he used to be. At the peak of his popularity, it was a nightmare to work with the actor because he wouldn’t show up on time, or—if he did show up at all—he’d be very late or he’d be sulky and moody. His ex-girlfriend was way worse but that’s another story for another time. The actor has a new endorsement but he refused to show up for the shoot. He wanted a lot of changes in his contract at the last minute and, of course, these things take a bit of time. When he couldn’t get what he wanted immediately, he threw a tantrum and decided not to show up. So things haven’t changed. If anything, they seem to have gotten worse.
JUST A GIMMICK
THE recent goings on involving some popular teen stars are said to be just gimmicks to drum up public interest for their projects. Sadly, the popularity of these stars has dwindled because of a new love team that’s quite hot right now. Two of the stars in the group have shown huge promise to be future superstars but then, showbiz fame is unpredictable. You’ll never know what will happen next and the pandemic, along with the rise of the aforementioned popular love team, has caused their stars to dim a little. They are still popular but they’re no longer hot property. Competition is good but not if the competition has buried everyone else.
NEW LOVE
WHEN he joined showbiz, the male starlet had a longtime girlfriend, an influencer. Later on, they would part ways because both became busy with their careers. They didn’t part as friends but they just drifted apart. Fast forward to the present: the male starlet has found love again with someone who’s significantly but not alarmingly younger than him. The relationship is going well but at a very cautious pace because the guy is being very careful. His last lasted for a number of years so he’s in this for the long haul, too. As for the girl, she is going with the flow and not in any hurry because she’s just starting out with her career and wants to accomplish a lot of things.
THE LAST STRAW
DISCORD seems to follow this actress in every relationship. Her former boyfriend allegedly physically hit her and she had the good sense to leave him. After the break-up, he hooked up with a minor starlet while the actress enjoyed being single. This changed when she met another actor and they kind of fell in love instantly. They got along very well. But the actress realized the actor had a temper and was always impatient about many things. When he disagreed with something she said, he would sulk and ignore her for days. The last straw for the actress was when the actor said her body of work was negligible and it wouldn’t really matter if she quit being an actress.