Odds are, this isn’t the last you’ll see of Johnny Knoxville and the boys of Jackass. Not only did Jackass 3D demolish all of the competition at the box office this weekend, it made $50 million earning it the highest grossing October opening weekend ever stealing the honor from Scary Movie 3 and its $48.1 million. On top of that, it set a daily record for snagging a whopping $28.1 million on Friday.
Just because Jackass stole such a significant amount of the box office cash doesn’t mean another newcomer didn’t fair well. Red took the #2 spot with a nice $22.5 million. Then again, when you compare its $6,912 per theater average to Jackass 3D’s $16,228 average and then Red’s $58 million budget to Jackass’ mere $20 million budget, the difference in performance is astronomical.
The Social Network held on strong in week three, dropping just 28.8% and adding another $11 million to its pot. Its domestic total now stands at $63.1 million. Secretariat took the fourth position with $9.5 million followed closely by Life as We Know It and its $9.2 million intake. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is still holding on, but also still far from getting into the green. It took in $4.2 million in week four, bringing its grand total to $46 million, which is still a ways away from its $80 million budget.
Coming in at #7 is The Town and its $4 million. This one is certainly a major winner for Warner Bros. having amassed over $80 million in five weeks on a $37 million budget. Sadly, the same cannot be said for My Soul to Take. That one only had a $25 million budget, but hasn’t come close to earning it back and is falling fast. It took a 53.8% hit in week two, earning just $3.2 million. Its domestic total is currently $11.9 million. On the other hand, Easy A finds itself in a similar position to The Town. In week five it earned $2.7 million and the ninth spot, brining its grand total $52.3 million, which is above and beyond its $8 million budget. We’re back on the other side of the spectrum with this week’s 10th place film, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. It’s putting $2.4 million in the bank its fourth week, putting its total at $47.9 million. Not bad, but considering its $70 million budget, it’s probably not what Fox was hoping for.
Next weekend is going to be an easy call. Hereafter is expanding to over 2,200 theaters, but the box office will likely belong to Paranormal Activity 2. With Halloween just over a week away, this one will be a huge draw especially considering the success of its predecessor. However, unlike the original, this one has a little further to go if it wants to make a profit right off the bat. Paranormal Activity had an unbelievably minimal $15,000 budget, while the sequel reportedly was bumped up to $2.7 million. That price tag is minimal by industry standards, but it still changes expectations for the sequel.
By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)
