Jackass: Number Two Stunts Its Way Past Box Office Foes

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s people’s desire to watch others act like idiots.

That was proven in Hollywood over the weekend, as Johnny Knoxville and his crazy friends out-stunted the competition and Jackass Number Two beat a rush of serious films for top spot at the box office.

The sequel to Jackass: The Movie debuted with $28.1 million, while Jet Li’s latest martial arts feature Fearless found second place with $10.6 million.

Other debut films, including First World War saga Flyboys and Sean Penn’s political drama All the King’s Men, didn’t fare so well opening in fourth and seventh spot respectively.

In fact, almost no one in Hollywood had cause for celebration as box office totals dropped for the third-straight weekend, down seven per cent from the same time last year. The movie industry’s solid summer is now a distant memory.

“After a weak summer last year, we had a fairly strong fall,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. “This year, we’re seeing a reversal of what happened last year.”

But things keep rolling for the Jackass franchise, which grew from an MTV show based on “experts” doing reckless stunts and dares.

Males accounted for two-thirds of the movie’s audience, with 71 per cent of the crowd younger than 25. All involved are excited and surprised by the repeat success.

“I think it was, `Holy blank, we’ve done it again. What is wrong with the country?”‘ said Van Toffler, president of MTV’s music and film group.

All the King’s Men stars Penn as a Southern demagogue inspired by Louisiana political kingpin Huey Long. The adaptation of Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini and Patricia Clarkson.

Despite the stellar cast critics have not heralded the film, with many reviewers suggesting Penn’s performance was too over the top. The 1949 version won the best-picture Oscar, but something seems to have messed up in the second effort.

“I’m not sure (what went wrong),” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. “It’s a movie that we love and believe in, and we hoped that it would perform better.”

In contrast to the big disappointment, small independent fantasy The Science of Sleep opened well in limited release with $347,000 in 14 theatres.

The Michel Gondry picture stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg in the story of a young man whose weird dream life spills over into his waking world.

Here’s the rest of the weekend’s top 10, with all figures estimated according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

1. “Jackass Number Two,” $28.1 million.

2. “Jet Li’s Fearless,” $10.6 million.

3. “Gridiron Gang,” $9.7 million.

4. “Flyboys,” $6 million.

5. “Everyone’s Hero,” $4.75 million.

6. “The Black Dahlia,” $4.4 million.

7. “All the King’s Men,” $3.8 million.

8. “The Covenant,” $3.3 million.

9. “The Illusionist,” $3.28 million.

10. “Little Miss Sunshine,” $2.9 million.