The Jackass gang returned last night in previews for Jackass Forever and its start indicates that it will likely overperform beyond its initial box office tracking, in part thanks to its Thursday night preview shows.
Jackass Forever grossed $1.65 million from 2,650 theaters from shows that began at 7:00 PM, per Deadline. The figure is above the previous showing of Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa which pulled in $1.4 million from 10:00 PM showtimes in 2013 but below the $2.5 million grossed in midnight previews from Jackass 3D. Bad Grandpa went on to open to $32 million while Jackass 3D boasts the franchise’s biggest opening weekend with $50.3 million. The better comparison here is Bad Grandpa because the third Jackass movie was given a boost by the 3D angle. Jackass Forever is tracking to open in the mid-teens but I think $25-30 million is more likely. It’s all a win given the film’s slim $10 million budget. Throw in a solid 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s a good weekend once again for Paramount Pictures following the January success of Scream.
Also opening in Thursday night previews was Moonfall with a gross of $700,000 from about 2,300 locations from showtimes that begin at 6:00 PM. Projections for Moonfall have been all over the place with a range of $8-13 million for its opening weekend. Working against Moonfall is that the Canada release was canceled due to theater closures caused by the Omicron Surge, although Ontario recently reopened. Theaters in the Midwest also saw around 300 movie theater closures due to a really bad winter storm. The odds are against Moonfall and reviews won’t help as it’s 42% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. That being said, it’s being received better critically than 2017’s Geostorm (17% rotten) and that film went on to open to $13.7 million before tapping out at $33.7 million domestic. Saving that film a bit was that 85% of its worldwide total of $221.6 million came from overseas markets. That film carried a $130 million budget while Moonfall ranges from $140-146 million. Needless to say, it’s going to need a lot of overseas help to see a profit.
Did YOU catch Jackass Forever or Moonfall in Thursday night previews?