The Jerk (1979) follows naive Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) as he leaves his poor Black family, becomes a millionaire with the "Opti-Grab" invention (which makes people cross-eyed), loses it all, and finds true happiness back with his family and love, Marie, embracing his simple roots and gaining rhythm, while its sequel, The Jerk, Too (1984), sees Navin trying to go straight but getting pulled into a Las Vegas casino heist.
Combined theatrical financials and commercial performance across all 2 installments.
Total Worldwide Gross
$100M
Cumulative box office receipts
Total Production Budget
$4M
Combined studio investments
Average Gross / Film
$50M
Average theatrical return
Commercial Multiple
25x
Worldwide Gross vs Budget
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After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson sets off on a hilarious misadventure that takes him from rags to riches and back again. The slaphappy jerk strikes it rich, but life in the fast lane isn't all it's cracked up to be and, in the end, all that really matters to Johnson is his true love.
Navin Johnson heads to Los Angeles to attend the wedding of his pen pal, Marie. On the way, he runs across a gang of hobos whose leader, Diesel, takes him to Las Vegas after learning of his skills at poker.