After an underwhelming January, Hollywood studios starts February with two new wide releases. Paramount leads the way with Jackass Forever [JCKA5], the latest installment in the R-rated reality comedy series. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, which featured only Johnny Knoxville, opened during October 2013 with $32.1 million, which was down from Jackass 3D's 2010 debut with the whole crew at $50.4 million. The franchise fatigue is likely to continue due to a nearly ten-year gap. Jackass Forever does appeal to the young male demographic that’s the least hesitant to attend movie theaters. Dropping into 3604 theaters, Jackass Forever could land $19 million.
Lionsgate courts a similar young male audience with the PG-13 rate sci-fi spectacle Moonfall [MNFAL]. Director Roland Emmerich’s disaster epics have shown diminishing returns to the point that Moonfall was funded independently. Poor reviews for Moonfall explain why. Despite a $150 million budget, Moonfall may eclipse just $14 million from 3400 locations.
Spider-Man: No Way Home [SPID8.BW] continues to pile up its haul towards third place on the all-time domestic chart with about $6.0 million in its eighth weekend.
Scream [SCRM5] looks to claim another $4.0 million during its fourth weekend.
That's the whisper from the virtual trading floor.