Jackass 3-D absolutely dominated the box office this weekend. It absolutely destroyed analysts’ expectations and was an absolute monster at cineplex’s this weekend. It broke the trend of films being in 3-D having disappointing debuts. Also debuting well was the action-comedy Red with Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. The box office definitely got jolted this weekend, and it almost feels like this weekend has numbers that would be on par with some summer releases. Here’s how things broke down:
Jackass 3-D was the #1 film at the box office with a gross of $50 million (I predicted a 1st place finish and a gross of $32 million). The per theatre average for Jackass 3-D was $16,228 which was easily the highest of any film in the top ten. Critics were not kind to this installment of the franchise, but the fan base of Jackass does not listen to critics. They want to see their boys do as many painful stunts as possible, and with the caveat of the film being in 3-D, audiences rushed out to theatres to see how much pain the Jackass boys caused themselves. What is good about the Jackass 3-D opening weekend is that it is a 3-D film that audiences wanted to see, so 3-D films can still draw people in (but it has to be the right movie to see, and not just any movie which seemed to be the case earlier this year), and the opening weekend is a personal best for the franchise. See below:
2010 – Jackass 3-D – $50 million
2006 – Jackass: Number Two – $29 million opening weekend
2002 – Jackass: The Movie – $22.7 million opening weekend
This is great news for Paramount as Jackass 3-D will become the highest grossing film in the franchise (currently held by Jackass: Number Two which grossed $72.7 million), and it is already a big moneymaker as the budget is rumoured to be around $20 million. It will be interesting to see how it holds up in the coming weeks, as I expect that the up front demand has been met and it will suffer big drops at the box office, but for a film that people expected to be front loaded, the opening weekend definitely exceeded expectations.
Debuting in 2nd place is the action-comedy Red with a gross of $22.5 million (I predicted a 2nd place finish and a gross of $17 million). Red had a per theatre average of $6,912. The marketing of the film was solid as it looked like a fun picture and the casting of Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich definitely appealed to adult audiences. Reviews were good, so that helped make the decision to separate peoples money from their wallets that much easier. This film should be able to hold up well over the next few weeks as we’ll see more horror films come out, but Red really has the market for fun adult films. The opening weekend is a good start for Summit Entertainment as the budget for Red is rumoured to be around $58 million, so if it holds up well over the next few weekends, it should become a profitable film.
Dropping from 1st place to 3rd place is The Social Network with a gross of $11 million (I predicted a 3rd place finish and a gross of $9.7 million). The Social Network had a per theatre average of $3,835 and the film was down only 28.8% from last weekend. The Social Network is definitely a film that has struck a chord with audiences, as for the second weekend in a row it had a percentage drop of less than 30%. The film will definitely be a Best Picture contender at this year’s Oscars, and in the meantime it is going to continue to make money for Sony. The budget for The Social Network is rumoured to be around $50 million and after three weekends, the film has taken in $63.1 million.
Dropping from 3rd place to 4th place is the horse racing drama Secretariat with a gross of $9.5 million (I predicted a 5th place finish and a gross of $6.5 million). Secretariat had a per theatre average of $3,093 and was down only 25.1% from its opening weekend. The percentage drop was the lowest of any film in the top ten. Secretariat definitely rebounded from a poor opening weekend, and the low percentage drop is definitely good news for the film. It will have to continue to post strong holds for the next couple of weekends if it truly wants to become a word-of-mouth hit with audiences. After two weekends Secretariat has grossed $27.5 million and it should be able to make back its budget for Disney, as the budget is rumoured to be around $35 million.
Dropping from 2nd place to 5th place is the family dramedy Life as We Know It with a gross of $9.2 million (I predicted a 4th place finish and a gross of $8.1 million). Life as We Know It had a per theatre average of $2,921 and suffered a percentage drop of 36.6% from its opening weekend. The percentage drop is quite good, but the per theatre average is weak for a film that is only 10 days old, so Life as We Know It will not be a long term performer at the box office. After two weekends, Life as We Know It has grossed $28.8 million and it should be able to gross more than its budget for Warner Bros. which is rumoured to be around $38 million.
Dropping from 4th place to 6th place is Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole with a gross of $4.2 million (I predicted a 7th place finish and a gross of $4.14 million). The film had a per theatre average of $1,693 and dropped 38.5% from last weekend. The percentage drops for the film continue to be solid, but the disappointing opening weekend negates that. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole also did quite well this weekend considering that Jackass 3-D took some of its 3-D screens. After four weekends, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole has taken in $46 million, and it will definitely be considered a disappointment for Warner Bros. as the budget for the film is reportedly around $80 million.
Dropping from 6th place to 7th place is The Town with a gross of $4 million (I predicted a 6th place finish and a gross of $4.16 million). The Town had a per theatre average of $1,706 and was down only 37% from last weekend. After five weekends, The Town has grossed $80.5 million and is definitely a hit for Warner Bros. as the budget is rumoured to be around $37 million.
Dropping from 5th place to 8th place is the horror film My Soul to Take with a gross of $3.1 million (I predicted a 9th place finish and a gross of $2.66 million). My Soul to Take had a per theatre average of $1,250 and was down 53.8% from its opening weekend. The percentage drop was the highest of any film in the top ten. After two weekends, My Soul to Take has grossed $11.9 million which is not good considering the budget for the film is rumoured to be around $25 million.
Dropping from 8th place to 9th place is Easy A which grossed $2.6 million (I predicted a 8th place finish and a gross of $2.7 million). Easy A had a per theatre average of $1,145 and was down only 38.2% from last weekend. After five weekends, Easy A has grossed $52.3 million, from a budget of only $8 million.
Dropping from 7th place to 10th place is Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps with a gross of $2.3 million (I predicted a 10th place finish and a gross of $2.2 million). Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps had a per theatre average of $1,149 and was down 48.9% from last weekend. After four weekends, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps has grossed $47.8 million which is a disappointment considering the budget is reported to be around $70 million.
In limited release:
Carlos – This is a biopic about Carlos the Jackal. The film grossed $18,200 from 2 theatres giving it a per theatre average of $9,100.
Hereafter – This film stars Matt Damon and is directed by Clint Eastwood and is about a group of people dealing with life after death. The film grossed $231,000 from 6 theatres giving it a per theatre average of $38,500, which was the highest of any film in release.
Conviction – This film stars Hilary Swank and is based on the true story of a woman who goes to law school in order to defend her brother from crimes that she believes he did not commit. The film grossed $110,000 from 11 theatres giving it a per theatre average of $10,000.
I Want Your Money – This documentary takes a look at the American financial crisis from a conservative point of view. The film grossed $279,000 from 537 theatres giving it a per theatre average of $520.
N-Secure – This drama is about a man falling from grace and the fallout that happens because of it. The film grossed $1.38 million from 486 theatres giving it a per theatre average of $2,850.
Samson and Delilah, Vision, Down Terrace, The Two Escobars, Gerrymandering, Carmo Hit The Road, The Trouble with Terkel and White Lion did not report its box office gross as of this writing.
So to recap, here were my predictions:
Jackass 3-D – $32 million
Red – $17 million
The Social Network – $9.7 million
Life As We Know It – $8.1 million
Secretariat – $6.5 million
And here are the actual numbers:
Jackass 3-D – $50 million
Red – $22.5 million
The Social Network – $11 million
Secretariat – $9.5 million
Life As We Know It – $9.2 million
My predictions were off by $28.9 million.
Next weekend, Jackass 3-D looks to be the #1 film for a second weekend in a row against the horror sequel Paranormal Activity 2 as well as the expanding Clint Eastwood directed film Hereafter which stars Matt Damon. Check out Biff Bam Pop next Friday to read my predictions!
