Update!

Jackass Kicks Ass

3-D antics by Johnny Knoxville's crew rule weekend box office with huge $50 mil opening; Red settles for second

By Joal Ryan Oct 17, 2010 7:10 PMTags
Jackass 3-DDickhouse Productions

The question was: Can a flying Porta Potty save 3-D?

The answer was: Oh, yeah.

The weekend box-office results:

Jackass 3D dominated with a $50 million debut, per estimates. It was easily the stunt gang's biggest opening yet; it was Hollywood's biggest opener since Inception three long months ago; it was 3-D's biggest opener since Despicable Me three-and-a-half longer months ago.

Bruce Willis' and Helen Mirren's AARP-eligible crew from Red ($22.5 million) was a distant second, and less potent than Sylvester Stallone's own oldster actioneer from the summer, The Expendables. But Red's debut was solid nonetheless. Also, audiences liked—moviegoers graded it an A-minus—so it may stick around.

The Social Network ($11 million; $63.1 million overall) dropped to third after a two-weekend reign at No. 1. 

In limited release, Clint Eastwood did it again, launching his Matt Damon-led Hereafter ($231,000 at six theaters) to a weekend-best per-screen average, while Hilary Swank's latest Oscar vehicle, Conviction ($110,000 at 11 theaters), acquitted itself well.

Diane Lane's Secretariat ($9.5 million; $27.5 million overall) and Katherine Heigl's Life As We Know It ($9.2 million; $28.9 million overall) aren't free-falling, but aren't perking up, either. 

The low-budget (no-budget?) thriller 'N-Secure, featuring former Cosby kid Tempestt Bledsoe, was a surprise contender, grossing $1.4 million, and nearly making the Top 10 despite playing on two thousand or so fewer screens than the average Top 10 movie. By comparison, the Tea Party doc, I Want Your Money, made just $279,240 on roughly the same number of screens. 

Elsewhere, among the holdovers, Easy A broke $50 million overall; The Town broke $80 million; and The Kids Are All Right has crossed $20 million. 

Here's a complete look at the weekend's top-grossing films, per Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

    1. Jackass 3-D, $50 million
    2. Red, $22.5 million
    3. The Social Network, $11 million
    4. Secretariat, $9.5 million
    5. Life As We Know It, $9.2 million
    6. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, $4.2 million
    7. The Town, $4 million
    8. My Soul to Take, $3.2 million
    9. Easy A, $2.7 million
    10. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, $2.4 million

    (Originally published Oct. 17, 2010, at 10:15 a.m. PT)