Well, the Jackass gang was at it again, this time offering their usual gags, gross-outs and stunts in 3D. The 3D format payed off as Jackass 3D broke the opening weekend record for Fall (considered the months of September and October) that was previously held by Scary Movie 3.
Jackass 3D managed to make a very impressive $50 M over the weekend. It is estimated that 90 percent of its business were on 3D screens, so in this case, the 3D surcharge definitely helped pad the total for the movie. Friday’s total of $21 M may be an opening day record as well, if the totals hold true.
The talented ensemble cast of Red helped propel the movie to second place over the weekend, earning a respectable $22.5 M over the weekend. It also received a coveted A+ score from audiences, according to pollster cinemascore. Those don’t come along very often, and they often indicate that the film will benefit from good word of mouth.
David Fincher’s The Social Network continues to perform strongly. It only dropped 28% from last week’s totals, and placed a strong third at the box office with $11 M. After three weeks, the movie has made $63 M, besting its budget of $50 M.
Secretariat appears to be running a slow and steady box office race. The film only dropped off 25% from last weekend for third place, making another $9.5 M. It is very rare for a film to drop less than 30% after opening weekend, so Secretariat may surprise us by making its money over time, not just the opening weekend. After two weekends, the film has made around $27 M, but its budget was only $35 M, so it looks like it will be in good shape financially.
Holdover Life As We Know It was able to retain much of its momentum as well, earning an additional $9M for fifth place. Outside of the top ten, upcoming documentary Inside Job boasted a high $9,000/per screen, playing on just 1o screens. The documentary about the Wall Street collapse is garnering some serious buzz.
Also enjoying great per/screen averages was Hilary Swank’s inspiring legal drama, Conviction. Though it only played on 11 screens, it had a $10,000 per/screen average.
