Jackass Forever

Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Jackass Forever?

Directed by Jeff Tremaine, with Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius leading the cast, Jackass Forever was produced by Paramount Pictures with a confirmed budget of $10,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for action films as part of the Jackass Collection.

At $10,000,000, Jackass Forever was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $25,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• By the Sea (2015): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $3,727,746 → ROI: -63% • Eye for an Eye (2025): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross N/A • Goal! (2005): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $27,610,873 → ROI: 176% • Phantom (2013): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $1,197,759 → ROI: -88% • War of the Worlds (2025): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross N/A

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences. For large-scale productions, VFX alone can account for 20–30% of the total budget, with additional costs for stunt coordinators, rigging, and safety crews.

▸ Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation. Lead actors in major action franchises typically earn $10–25 million per film, with directors often receiving comparable compensation packages tied to box office performance.

▸ Production Design, Sets & Locations Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment — all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Jason 'Wee Man' Acuña Key roles: Johnny Knoxville as Self; Steve-O as Self; Chris Pontius as Self; Dave England as Self

DIRECTOR: Jeff Tremaine CINEMATOGRAPHY: Dimitry Elyashkevich, Lance Bangs MUSIC: Joseph Shirley, Joseph Shirley EDITING: Matthew Kosinski, Matthew Probst PRODUCTION: Paramount Pictures, MTV Entertainment Studios, Dickhouse Productions FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Jackass Forever earned $57,743,451 domestically and $22,596,767 internationally, for a worldwide total of $80,340,218. The film skewed heavily domestic (72%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Jackass Forever needed approximately $25,000,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $55,340,218.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $80,340,218 Budget: $10,000,000 Net: $70,340,218 ROI: 703.4%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Highly Profitable

Jackass Forever was a clear financial success, generating $80,340,218 worldwide against a $10,000,000 production budget — a 703% ROI. After estimated marketing costs, the film still delivered substantial profit to Paramount Pictures.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

Franchise: Jackass Forever is part of the Jackass Collection.

The outsized success of Jackass Forever likely influenced studio greenlight decisions for similar action projects.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Casting

On May 25, Knoxville confirmed six new cast members: Jasper Dolphin of Odd Future, and one of the stars of Loiter Squad; Jasper's ex-convict father Compston "Dark Shark" Wilson, who made recurring guest appearances throughout the film; Eric Manaka, who had a role in Knoxville's film Action Point; stand-up comedian Rachel Wolfson; Zach Holmes from Too Stupid to Die; and surfer Sean "Poopies" McInerney who had previously appeared in the Jackass Shark Week special. The project was initially presented as a possible anniversary special, and the new cast were later told it would be a movie.

▸ Filming & Locations

Wee Man stated that the original plan was to film in different locations around the world, which was ultimately thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also claimed that Paramount Pictures used Jackass Forever to see how film studios could potentially resume filming during the pandemic. Because the majority of the film was filmed during the pandemic, all cast and crew members had to be tested for COVID-19 daily during filming. On January 6, 2022, Jeff Tremaine stated that all of the testing combined had a cost of "about over (sic) one million dollars".

Test filming began on December 10, 2019. During the two days of test filming, professional skateboarder Aaron "Jaws" Homoki broke his hand, and suffered a concussion. Principal photography started on March 3, 2020. On the first day of filming, the cast threw snakes on Bam Margera in the dark in order to induce his fear of snakes. Two days after the movie was greenlit, Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville were hospitalized. Filming was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed seven months later on October 19, 2020, with Dimitry Elyashkevich serving as cinematographer.

[Filming] Wee Man stated that the original plan was to film in different locations around the world, which was ultimately thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also claimed that Paramount Pictures used Jackass Forever to see how film studios could potentially resume filming during the pandemic. Because the majority of the film was filmed during the pandemic, all cast and crew members had to be tested for COVID-19 daily during filming. On January 6, 2022, Jeff Tremaine stated that all of the testing combined had a cost of "about over (sic) one million dollars".

Test filming began on December 10, 2019. During the two days of test filming, professional skateboarder Aaron "Jaws" Homoki broke his hand, and suffered a concussion. Principal photography started on March 3, 2020.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 3 wins & 5 nominations total

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 40 critics. It is the highest rated Jackass film on both websites. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an 86% positive score, with 67% saying they would definitely recommend it. David Fear of Rolling Stone gave it four out of five and wrote: "Forget the title: Jackass can't go on forever. Just enjoy one last chance to see these beautiful fuck-ups do what they do best before they limp and hobble off into the sunset."

In June 2025, IndieWire ranked the film at number 27 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."