Why Hollywood Needs 'Jackass'

Hollywood loves to take itself very seriously, especially in the fall. This is the season when the town rolls out its Oscar pics – serious movies like 12 Years a Slave, Captain Phillips and The Counselor. It’s the perfect time for something as silly as a Jackass movie.
Call it counter programming. Gravity and Captain Phillips are still going strong at the box office. The other big movie opening this weekend is The Counselor. With a prestigious cast that includes Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Cameron Diaz, the movie has serious-adult-film written all over it. Unfortunately, the critics don’t seem thrilled about the movie. It currently scores a 53 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes. Exhibitor Relations expects the film will earn $13 million this weekend ranking it in third place.
The latest film from Johnny Knoxville and friends, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, is expected to top the box office this weekend with $32 million, according to Exhibitor Relations. That would be the second-best opening of the four Jackass movies which feature real people doing idiotic stunts that usually result in them getting hurt in hysterical ways. The films are like America’s Funniest Home Videos on steroids. (The last Jackass film, which was in 3-D, earned $50 million opening weekend.)
There’s a place for these kinds of movies in the Hollywood hierarchy. The movie world has been divided into two spheres: Giant-budget franchise films that are so chock full of special effects you walk out with a headache, and lower budget serious films that are designed to win Oscars.
Paramount is carving a third path with Jackass. The films are cheap to produce. The first movie cost just $6 million. The most expensive Jackass movie was the 3-D film which cost $20 million. The newest film, which is lower tech, likely cost close to Jackass 2′s $11 million.
So if the film earns $32 million this weekend, it will be well on its way to profitability (the production budget does not include advertising costs and studios take home about half of the price of each ticket). Plus it’s getting better reviews than The Counselor. Bad Grandpa has a 78 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes. No one ever went broke overestimating America’s taste for people getting kicked in the groin. Expect the Jackass gang to keep churning out their films for as long as they can.