Box Office Clash: ‘Jackass Forever’ Rides High, ‘Moonfall’ Plummets
Last weekend witnessed a cinematic showdown in North American theaters, with two significant releases vying for audience attention. ‘Jackass Forever,’ the latest installment from Paramount Pictures, emerged victorious, debuting in 3,604 locations and capturing the top spot with a $23.5 million opening weekend. In contrast, Lionsgate’s ‘Moonfall,’ a disaster epic, struggled to gain traction, earning only $10 million across 3,446 screens. Despite its lukewarm reception, ‘Moonfall’ managed to nudge ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ into third place after a prolonged and successful run.
‘Jackass Forever’: A Resounding Success with Fans and Critics
‘Jackass Forever’ represents the highly anticipated fifth chapter in the notorious ‘Jackass’ film saga. Born from an MTV reality show in 2000, the series features Johnny Knoxville and his band of daredevils executing outrageous stunts and pranks, challenging the limits of physical endurance. The show sparked considerable debate regarding the distinction between bravery and recklessness, pioneering a genre of challenge-based content now prevalent on short-video platforms.
Following the show’s initial triumph, Paramount Pictures released four film adaptations between 2002 and 2013, all achieving impressive box office returns. This recent addition, once again spearheaded by Johnny Knoxville, boasts a comparatively modest $10 million budget but leverages a dedicated fanbase eager for nostalgic thrills, ultimately proving more attractive to viewers than many high-budget productions.
The ‘Jackass’ franchise, celebrated for its brand of slapstick humor, defying expectations, maintains its vivacity 20 years later. ‘Jackass Forever’ revitalizes the formula by incorporating new gags and concepts, indicating the franchise’s ongoing relevance.
Paramount centered its marketing strategy on evoking nostalgia and friendship. The advertising urged friends who had watched ‘Jackass’ together in the past to reunite in theaters and relive their carefree youth. The strategy certainly proved successful.
Ironically, ‘Jackass Forever’ has received rave reviews, notwithstanding its seemingly vulgar premise. The film holds an impressive 85% approval rating from professional critics on Rotten Tomatoes, outperforming several Oscar hopefuls.
Critics have expressed considerable approval. Hannah Strong, editor of Little White Lies, commented, “These jackasses may be dumb, but they undeniably have hearts of gold.” Kevin Fallon, chief film critic for The Daily Beast, went so far as to title his review, “‘Jackass Forever’ Is a Masterpiece of American Unity.” This high praise underlines the surprising yet palpable impact the film has had on audiences and critics alike.
‘Moonfall’: A Risky Venture That Didn’t Pay Off
In sharp contrast to the success of ‘Jackass Forever,’ ‘Moonfall’ was met with largely negative reviews. Directed by Roland Emmerich, known for disaster films such as ‘Independence Day,’ ‘2012,’ and ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ and starring Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson, ‘Moonfall’ suffered ridicule on social media following early showings. Critics jokingly alleged that the scientific consultant also advised the ‘Fast & Furious’ series. The movie cost $140 million to produce, but only made $10 million in its opening weekend. Whether the money will be recouped depends on sales abroad.
According to reports, ‘Moonfall’ had a production budget of $140 million. However, Lionsgate clarified that they only covered distribution costs, ensuring they wouldn’t incur losses during the opening weekend. The production expenses were supposedly secured by the director and production team from various film companies based in China and America.
Many predicted that given past movies such as ‘Independence Day,’ ‘2012,’ and ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ ‘Moonfall’ would be well-received. But Emmerich’s earlier movie ‘Midway,’ released in 2019, recorded only $127 million in worldwide box office receipts on a $100 million budget. ‘Midway’ generated losses in North America, but was spared thanks to a $42.08 million gross in China. But ‘Moonfall’ performed poorly with American audiences and lacks interest from the Chinese market.
‘Moonfall’ presently has a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 40%.
Evidently, Emmerich expected such a reception. He stated that Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ films diminished the film industry, inhibiting innovative concepts. He thinks filmmakers should make original works, and praised Christopher Nolan as a like mind.
Emmerich has publicly declared his distaste for Marvel films, claiming that he will never participate in them. “It probably has to do with me being German and growing up in Germany. When I was a kid, I read comics like ‘Tintin,’ so my impression of serialized comics was that they were for kids, and had nothing to do with superheroes. In the past, that’s what everyone in Germany thought. It took a long time for these films to become popular in Germany. Personally, I’ve never been very interested in them. I fall asleep when I watch Marvel movies, so I usually watch them on planes to help me sleep.”
‘The Worst Person in the World’ - An Indie Success
Apart from the big releases, Neon’s ‘The Worst Person in the World’ also had a successful opening weekend. The Foreign Film Academy Award nominee made almost $140,000 in theaters, averaging $33,760 a theater. Approximately 60% who viewed the film were less than 35 years old, which indicates a large interest in international movies among younger movie-goers. This behavior may have happened because films like ‘Parasite’, and Netflix international shows exposed Americans to foreign media, altering their viewing behaviors.