'Jackass' Jumps To Top Of Box Office
MTV Show-Turned-Movie Takes In Over $22M
POSTED: 8:05 p.m. EST October 27, 2002
UPDATED: 9:10 a.m. EST October 28, 2002
Moviegoers are jumping for "Jackass."
The big-screen version of the controversial MTV reality show whose stars specialize in bizarre and risky behavior is the most popular movie at the box office, pulling in an estimated $22.7 million in its debut weekend.
If that preliminary estimate from Exhibitor Relations holds up, that means "Jackass" has already earned more than four times its production budget of $5 million -- a mere pittance by Hollywood standards.
The show has gotten teens across the country in trouble with the law for imitating some of the dangerous stunts they've seen on the show -- with some of the stunts resulting in serious injuries.
Hoping to ward off an errant behavior, the film version of "Jackass" -- which is rated R -- carries warnings urging viewers not to try the stunts themselves.
Slipping to second place after one weekend on top was the Naomi Watts horror film "The Ring," which took in an estimated $18.8 million.
A new horror film in theaters this weekend, the Julianna Margulies thriller "Ghost Ship," took third place with an estimated $11.7 million. The Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy "Sweet Home Alabama" took fourth place with an estimated $6.4 million.
Rounding out the top five was the sleeper hit with the most staying power this summer, the romantic comedy-fable "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." After opening in select East Coast cities in April and building a steady word-of-mouth following film made the top five for the first time the weekend of Aug. 23-25.
It has remained in the top five ever since. Starring writer Nia Vardalos and John Corbett, the film earned an estimated $6.3 million over the weekend to bring its running total to $177 million. The film was made for just under $5 million.
Opening in limited release over the weekend was "The Truth About Charlie," a remake of the Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn crime caper "Charade."
Directed by "Silence of the Lambs" helmer Jonathan Demme, and starring Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton, "Charlie" opened in 752 theaters and made an estimated $2.3 million -- which was not enough to place it in the top 10.
Final numbers will be released Monday.
Copyright 2002 by Lifewhile.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
