‘Jackass Forever’ Turns Black-And-Blue Pranks Into Box Office Green With A $23.5 Million Debut; ‘Moonfall’ Craters
Jackass, which began its life as a men-behaving-dumbly series on MTV back in 2000 has gone on to spawn four feature films (five if you include the 2013 spin-off Bad Grandpa). The movies—a collection of masochistic pranks, self-inflicted humiliations, and male camaraderie—have always been solid performers at the box office, especially in light of their modest budgets. Jackass Forever will be no exception. The film, which cost a bargain-basement $10 million to produce (and watching it you may wonder where even that much money went), is already solidly in the black after its opening weekend thanks to pandemic-weary audiences in need of a stupid laugh (Paramount had projected that it would open in the mid-teens). The R-rated comedy’s $23.5 million opening weekend came from 3,604 theaters, where it earned a $6,250 per-screen average. It’s not particularly shocking that the franchise’s fanbase ate it up with a spoon and gave it a ‘B+’ grade from CinemaScore, but what is surprising is that critics were so fulsome in their praise for the low-brow film, anointing it with an 85% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Score one for Knoxville and his deathwish posse of dim bulbs.
Finishing in second place was the movie that most box-office prognosticators expected to take the top spot—Lionsgate’s Moonfall. The PG-13-rated disaster flick from the things-go-boom director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow bowed to an underwhelming $10 million despite all the special effects its $140 million budget could buy and a cast that included Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and Donald Sutherland. The movie, which puts the moon on a crash course with Earth, scored a $2,903 per-screen average at 3,446 locations. Its ‘C+’ CinemaScore grade doesn’t bode well for positive word of mouth in the weeks to come. Neither does the woeful 40% green splat next to its name on Rotten Tomatoes. Moonfall has not yet opened overseas, but it should certainly fare better there than it is looking like it will domestically.
Landing in third place was Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home with $9.6 million in its eighth week in theaters. The PG-13-rated blockbuster had spent six of the previous seven weeks in first place and is largely responsible for whatever success the movie business has had so far in 2022. Dropping a mere -12.8% from the prior weekend, Peter Parker and company had a $2,666 per-screen average in 3,600 theaters. Its new domestic box-office total of $749 million now places it just $11 million shy of leapfrogging past 2009’sAvatar as the third-highest grossing film domestically of all time. Internationally, the Tom Holland-led blockbuster has piled up $1.03 billion to date, putting its worldwide cumulative haul at $1.78 billion.
In fourth place was Paramount’s Scream, which scared up $4.7 million in its fourth weekend—a -34.5% dip from the prior frame. The R-rated “requel” starring franchise mainstays Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, scored a $1,465 per-screen average in 3,227 theaters. Its total domestic gross after four weeks is $68.9 million. The latest chapter in the meta-fright flick saga has tacked on $51.4 million overseas so far, putting its current worldwide total at $120.3 million.
Rounding out the top five was Universal’s Sing 2 with $4.2 million. The PG-rated sequel, which has week-by-week grown into one of winter’s biggest box-office behemoths, slipped just -10.6% from the prior weekend. Earning a $1,276 per-screen average at 3,266 locations, the animated musical featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, and Bono has collected $139.6 million to date in North America. Sing 2 has added $152 million from abroad, bringing its seven-week global haul to $291.5 million.
Below the Top 5, there were two other debuts of note: Blue Fox Entertainment’s PG-rated animal adventure The Wolf and the Lion opened in tenth place with $675,027 in 800 theaters for an $843 per-screen average; meanwhile, the awards-circuit darling and Best International Feature entry from Norway, Neon’s R-rated The Worst Person in the World, landed in 19th place, taking in $135,042 in just four theaters—that translates into a staggering $33,760 per-screen average. Stay tuned next week for the arrival of Kenneth Branagh (and his mustache) when his adaptation of Agatha Christie’sDeath on the Nile opens wide.
Finishing in second place was the movie that most box-office prognosticators expected to take the top spot—Lionsgate’s Moonfall. The PG-13-rated disaster flick from the things-go-boom director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow bowed to an underwhelming $10 million despite all the special effects its $140 million budget could buy and a cast that included Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and Donald Sutherland. The movie, which puts the moon on a crash course with Earth, scored a $2,903 per-screen average at 3,446 locations. Its ‘C+’ CinemaScore grade doesn’t bode well for positive word of mouth in the weeks to come. Neither does the woeful 40% green splat next to its name on Rotten Tomatoes. Moonfall has not yet opened overseas, but it should certainly fare better there than it is looking like it will domestically.
Landing in third place was Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home with $9.6 million in its eighth week in theaters. The PG-13-rated blockbuster had spent six of the previous seven weeks in first place and is largely responsible for whatever success the movie business has had so far in 2022. Dropping a mere -12.8% from the prior weekend, Peter Parker and company had a $2,666 per-screen average in 3,600 theaters. Its new domestic box-office total of $749 million now places it just $11 million shy of leapfrogging past 2009’sAvatar as the third-highest grossing film domestically of all time. Internationally, the Tom Holland-led blockbuster has piled up $1.03 billion to date, putting its worldwide cumulative haul at $1.78 billion.
In fourth place was Paramount’s Scream, which scared up $4.7 million in its fourth weekend—a -34.5% dip from the prior frame. The R-rated “requel” starring franchise mainstays Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, scored a $1,465 per-screen average in 3,227 theaters. Its total domestic gross after four weeks is $68.9 million. The latest chapter in the meta-fright flick saga has tacked on $51.4 million overseas so far, putting its current worldwide total at $120.3 million.
Rounding out the top five was Universal’s Sing 2 with $4.2 million. The PG-rated sequel, which has week-by-week grown into one of winter’s biggest box-office behemoths, slipped just -10.6% from the prior weekend. Earning a $1,276 per-screen average at 3,266 locations, the animated musical featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, and Bono has collected $139.6 million to date in North America. Sing 2 has added $152 million from abroad, bringing its seven-week global haul to $291.5 million.
Below the Top 5, there were two other debuts of note: Blue Fox Entertainment’s PG-rated animal adventure The Wolf and the Lion opened in tenth place with $675,027 in 800 theaters for an $843 per-screen average; meanwhile, the awards-circuit darling and Best International Feature entry from Norway, Neon’s R-rated The Worst Person in the World, landed in 19th place, taking in $135,042 in just four theaters—that translates into a staggering $33,760 per-screen average. Stay tuned next week for the arrival of Kenneth Branagh (and his mustache) when his adaptation of Agatha Christie’sDeath on the Nile opens wide.
