Paramount’s “Jackass Forever” has taken over the No. 1 box office spot that has been held by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” for almost all of the past month. The MTV revival earned $9.6 million from 3,604 locations on opening day and is now set for a $20 million-plus opening weekend.
A $20 million launch would be the lowest for the “Jackass” series even before inflation, as the first film back in 2002 opened to $22.7 million. But “Jackass Forever” is still set to easily turn a profit given its $10 million production budget. Reception for the film is also the highest ever for the “Jackass” series with an 87% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ from audiences on CinemaScore.
In second is Lionsgate’s “Moonfall” with $3.5 million on opening day from 3,446 locations and an estimated $9.4 million weekend total. The Roland Emmerich space disaster film is neck-and-neck with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” for the No. 2 spot, as the Marvel film is estimated to earn $9 million in its eighth weekend.
This result for “Moonfall” is slightly below the $10 million pre-release projection set by Lionsgate, which is only covering marketing and distribution costs for the film as its $138 million production budget was independently financed via sales deals by Emmerich and his production studio Centropolis Entertainment. “Moonfall” has received tepid reviews with a 42% Rotten Tomatoes score and a C+ on CinemaScore.
Paramount’s “Scream” and Universal/Illumination’s “Sing 2” complete the top 5, with both estimated to earn in the $4 million range this weekend. “Scream” will bring its domestic total to $68 million after four weekends, while “Sing 2” rises to $139 million after seven weekends.