A $50M Weekend for JACKASS 3D? Best Nonfiction Debut Ever, #6 All Time. Can It Top FAHRENHEIT?

WIth a mammoth opening weekend estimated at $50M dollars, Jeff Tremaine's JACKASS 3D sent a ballistic missile to the crotch of all previous nonfiction film box office records, easily and decisively becoming the most successful launch of a nonfiction feature in history.

The $50M take - and what's one or two million, give or take - will top the previous record holder, JACKASS: NUMBER TWO, by $20M.  For perspective, that $20M difference alone is a greater haul at the box office than all but ten nonfiction features in history.

Already, JACKASS 3D stands as the 6th highest grossing nonfiction film in history (see our all time chart here), where it joins both previous JACKASS films, making the series the most successful nonfiction film trilogy ever. 

Two questions now - will JACKASS 3D become the second nonfiction feature to surpass $100M at the box office and will the film eventually top Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11?  Each of the previous JACKASS films was able to triple its opening weekend box office.  If JACKASS 3D could do the same, it would easily surpass FAHRENHEIT.

Box Office Mojo's Brandon Gray has more on JACKASS 3D's other records, including best September/October opening, best September/October single day, etc. 

In other nonfiction box office news, weekend estimates have both WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN' and CATFISH surpassing the $2.5M mark.  It's not JACKASS numbers, but a significant milestone nonetheless.