Friday Box Office Analysis (8/5)

Despite having a safe PG-13 rating that could?ve scared off the Wedding Crashers audience, The Dukes of Hazzard still came in swinging with $12.5 million on Friday. Playing in a record setting 3,785 theaters for Warner Bros., the buddy-buddy action/comedy averaged $3,312 per-screen. The opening day earning is the biggest yet for both Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott, whose flicks Jackass and American Wedding had brought in $9.7 million ($3,873/screen in 2,509 theaters) and $12.2 million ($3,855/screen in 3,172 theaters), respectively (and both were armed with an R-rating).

Dukes of Hazzard also edged out last summer?s PG-13 laugher, Dodgeball, which featured Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, and grossed $11.3 million ($4,205/screen in 2,694 theaters). Dukes is likely to follow Dodgeball?s pattern with a slight decline on Saturday of up to 7%. Then again, Wedding Crashers had also been expected to drop in its second day in release and surprisingly upped its sales with help from great word of mouth. Word on Dukes shouldn?t be as ecstatic, as the movie doesn?t push any envelopes in taste or feature any standout comic performances. American Wedding had also seen a drop of 8% on Saturday while Jackass tumbled 20% due to its cult audience from TV rushing out. A weekend take of $33.0 million could result.