According to industry data released on Sunday, the irreverent but ultimately charming comedy film Jackass Forever performed a significant accomplishment this weekend, batting Spider-Man out of the top spot to claim supremacy in the North American box office.
According to industry analyst Exhibitor Relations, Paramount’s latest edition of spoofs, gross-out comedy, and horrific stunts cooked up by Johnny Knoxville and his merry pranksters debuted with a healthy $23.5 million (R362.6 million) for the Friday-through-Sunday session.
Twenty years on from its first silver screen release, the franchise has managed to retain some relevance with its fifth instalment, and successfully defied Hollywood trends to sneak a pure comedy film – one made for just $10 million (R154.4 million), no less – into the number one spot.
“It’s extremely hard to keep it fresh and funny for this long, but Jackass is doing that. Reviews are outstanding (at this point they are usually poor),” said David A Gross, who runs Franchise Entertainment Research.
Moonfall came in at number two, with a modest $10 million take.
The Lionsgate sci-fi disaster flick directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Halle Berry revolves around the rather far-fetched scenario that bits of the Moon are tumbling down onto Earth.
Slipping to third was Spider-Man: No Way Home, whose spectacular run of late – the best in the Covid era – has slowed.
Its $9.6 million (R148.2 million) in sales brought the Sony/Marvel superhero film to a total of $749 million (R11.5 billion) in domestic sales, placing it fourth all-time.
OTHER BOX OFFICE HITS
Paramount’s latest chapter in the Scream franchise dropped to fourth place, grossing $4.7 million (R72.5 million) As in the horror flick’s 1996 original, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette again star.
The fifth spot was claimed by Universal’s animated musical Sing 2, which took in $4.2 million (R64.8 million). Its all-star voice cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Pharrell Williams and Bono.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
- The King’s Man – $1.2 million (R18.5 million)
- Redeeming Love – $1 million (R15.4 million)
- American Underdog – $800 000 (R12.3 million)
- The 355 – $700 000 (R10.7 million)
- The Lion and the Wolf – $675 000 (R10.4 million)