Johnny Knoxville and his pals did what they do best. Their crazy stunt-filled sequel Jackass: Number Two stole the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, debuting with $28.1 million.
Jet Li’s Fearless, the martial-arts master last foray in the kung-fu genre, opened in second place with $10.6 million, while the rest of the weekend’s new wide releases debuted with poor numbers: The WWI tale Flyboys, opened in fourth place with $6 million and Sean Penn‘s political drama and supposed Oscar-baiter All the King’s Men, premiered in seventh spot with just $3.8 million.
Overall box office receipts declined for the third-straight weekend. That follows a solid summer for Hollywood, whereas movie attendance began picking up this time last year after a prolonged summer slump.
“After a weak summer last year, we had a fairly strong fall,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. “This year, we’re seeing a reversal of what happened last year.”
The Top 12 movies grossed $81.1 million this weekend, down 6.82 percent from last year’s draw of $87.9 but up 51.70 percent from last weekend’s total of $54 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Buena Vista’s Flightplan, which opened No. 1 with $24.6 million in 3,424 theaters, averaging $7,193 per theater; Warner Bros.’ Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, which moved up to second place in its second week of release with $19.1 million in 3,204 theaters, averaging $5,975 per theaters; and DreamWorks’ Just Like Heaven, which dropped to third place in its second week with $9.6 million in 3,509 theaters, averaging $2,742 per theaters (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Jackass: Number Two (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $28.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,059
• Per-theater average: $9,188
No. 2: Jet Li’s Fearless (Focus/Rogue Features, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,808
• Per-theater average: $5,843
No. 3: Gridiron Gang (Sony Picts., PG-13)
• Gross: $9.7 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,510 (+6)
• Per-theater average: $2,764
• Cume to date: $27.2 million
No. 4: Flyboys (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,033
• Per-theater average: $2,957
No. 5: Everyone’s Hero (20th Century Fox, G)
• Gross: $4.71 million (-22%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,898 (+2)
• Per-theater average: $1,639
• Cume to date: $11.5 million
No. 6: The Black Dahlia (Universal, R)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,236 (+10)
• Per-theater average: $1,968
No. 7: All the King’s Men (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,514
• Per-theater average: $2,510
No. 8 : The Covenant (Screen Gems, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-31%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,678 (-3)
• Per-theater average: $1,232
• Cume to date: $20.3 million
No. 9: The Illusionist (Yari Film Group, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.2 million (-10%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,432 (-6)
• Per-theater average: $2,287
• Cume to date: $27.5 million
No. 10: Little Miss Sunshine (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-13%)
• Weeks opened: 9
• Theaters: 1,384 (-52)
• Per-theater average: $2,077
• Cume to date: $50.3 million
OTHER OPENINGS
American Hardcore (Sony Picts. Classics, R)
• Gross: $21,187
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1
• Per-theater average: $21,187
The Science of Sleep (Warner Indie, R)
• Gross: $10,400
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $5,200
