Knoxville’s ‘Bad Grandpa’ to end box-office reign of ‘Gravity’

For three weeks, no film has been able to pull “Gravity� from its No. 1 orbit. But this weekend, Johnny Knoxville’s prank flick “Bad Grandpa� will likely pull it off -- no joke.

The inexpensive hidden-camera comedy from the “Jackass� creator is poised to debut with a strong $30 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. (Paramount Pictures, which is distributing the film, is projecting a softer opening of no more than $20 million.)

Meanwhile, “Gravity,� the hit 3-D space drama, may add another $22 million to its $177-million haul -- meaning the Alfonso Cuaron picture will make far more in its fourth weekend than the new thriller “The Counselor� will in its first.

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Despite a star-studded cast that includes Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Michael Fassbender, the film may only collect a dismal $7 million this weekend.

In “Bad Grandpa,� Knoxville disguises himself as an 86-year-old man traveling cross-country with his 8-year-old grandson (Jackson Nicoll). Like Sacha Baron Cohen in “Borat� or “Bruno,� a disguised and heavily made-up Knoxville pulls pranks on unsuspecting civilians.

Financed by Paramount for $15 million, “Bad Grandpa� has received mostly positive reviews: On Thursday, the film had notched a 75% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Heading into the weekend, the movie is generating the most interest among young males.

Knoxville’s “Jackass� film franchise has done healthy business at the box office over the years. In 2002, “Jackass: The Movie� -- essentially a longer-form, R-rated version of the MTV show “Jackass� -- grossed $64 million domestically.

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Four years later, the second film collected $72 million, and the third -- released in 3-D in 2010 -- took in an impressive $117 million. (The official title for Knoxville’s new film is “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa.�)

Despite early hoopla for “The Counselor,� in recent weeks there has been little buzz about the film. With the adult-aimed “Gravity� and “Captain Phillips� still playing well at the box office, it seems few are raring to see the new R-rated Ridley Scott movie this weekend. Meanwhile, the film’s stars have seemingly done little to promote the picture, which is so far not a favorite among critics.

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Cormac McCarthy’s “Counselor� script centers on a yuppie lawyer (Fassbender) who decides to orchestrate a drug smuggling deal. It also features turns from colorful criminals played by Diaz, Bardem and Brad Pitt. Shot in Europe, the movie was co-financed by distributor 20th Century Fox, the Seelig Group and Ingenious Media for $25 million.

In limited release this weekend, IFC will open its controversial French film “Blue Is the Warmest Color� in two theaters in Los Angeles and two in New York. With a running time of 3 hours, the movie follows a budding romance between two young women (Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux) and includes some explicit and much talked-about lesbian sex scenes.

Since winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the NC-17-rated movie has made headlines as its stars and director have publicly disparaged one another. In a September interview, Exarchopoulos and Seydoux said they had a “horrible� experience with director Abdellatif Kechiche and would never work with him again. The filmmaker then said he did not think the film should be released.

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