Johnny Knoxville brings the franchise back to theaters with a narrative-driven prank fest.

ANALYSIS: Will Johnny Knoxville's 'Bad Grandpa' Continue the Box Office Success of the 'Jackass' Franchise?

on July 31, 2013 by Shawn Robbins
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bg.pngJohnny Knoxville took to Twitter this afternoon as he unveiled the first trailer for Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa. You can check that out below our analysis.

The recently announced Paramount release is slated to open in time for Halloween business and, if initial Twitter reactions are any indication, it just might prove to be another box office winner for Knoxville and crew. The promise of "real people" and "real reactions" is smart marketing speak as it addresses the fact that similar wannabe-candid comedies usually aren't so candid. Audiences can see through the veil, something which negatively affected Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno and The Dictator after Borat's massive success.

Bad Grandpa, on the other hand, is making use of the popular Jackass mainstay characters. It also gives Paramount the chance to market the film in a way not too differently than it did with the first three Jackass movies: pitching creator and star Johnny Knoxville as the lead.

Jackass 3D set the October opening weekend record when it debuted to a massive $50.4 million in 2010. Even after accounting for inflation and 3D surcharges, that marked an increase in attendance over Jackass: Number Two (which opened to a still-strong $29 million in 2006). The third film also became the franchise's first to crack $100 million domestically ($117.2 million was its final tally).

It's been 11 years since the first Jackass movie made a splash with its $64.2 million domestic run, and fittingly enough Bad Grandpa will open on the original's same October 25 date.

Without the entire Jackass crew, it remains to be seen whether or not Bad Grandpa can reach the same benchmarks of its 3D predecessor, but it doesn't need to in order to be considered a success. So long as audiences are fine with seeing Johnny Knoxville's version of Borat, it'll likely end up on the winners' list during the second half of the year.

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