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LOS ANGELES — “Jackass” has pulled its craziest stunt yet, debuting in first place at the box office. 

Young men flocked to “Jackass: The Movie,” the big-screen version of the MTV show whose stars specialized in bizarre and risky behavior, which debuted with $22.7 million. 

Last weekend’s winner, Naomi Watts’ horror film “The Ring,” slipped to No. 2 but actually raised its gross by adding about 650 more theaters. The movie took in $18.8 million, up $3.8 million from opening weekend, pushing its 10-day total to $39.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. 

Another fright flick, “Ghost Ship,” opened in third place with $11.7 million. The movie stars Julianna Margulies and Gabriel Byrne as leaders of a salvage crew that finds a haunted ocean liner. 

Debuting in much narrower release was Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton’s “The Truth About Charlie,” a remake of the Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn crime caper “Charade.” Directed by Jonathan Demme, “The Truth About Charlie” opened out of the top 10 with $2.3 million. 

“Truth About Charlie” played in 752 theaters, averaging $3,105 a cinema. “Jackass” averaged $9,047 in 2,509 theaters, “The Ring” did $7,137 in 2,634 theaters, and “Ghost Ship” did $4,203 in 2,787 theaters. 

The overall box office rose for the seventh straight weekend. The top 12 movies grossed $88 million, up 21 percent from same weekend last year. 

Produced for just $5 million, “Jackass” features Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and others from the now-defunct MTV show doing such hazardous or crude acts as roller-skating with bottle rockets attached or urinating on a snow cone. 

Two-thirds of the movie’s audience was male, and young men from 17 to 24 accounted for nearly half the crowds, according to distributor Paramount. 

Executives at Paramount and its MTV subsidiary had expected “Jackass” might gross $20 million at best. 

“We didn’t expect to exceed $20 million for a film called ‘Jackass.’ Especially a film with no plot, no Oscar-caliber performances and no real writing,” said Van Toffler, MTV president. “What they do in the movie sort of feels to me like what the Three Stooges would be doing if they were alive. Kind of slapstick twisted on its head in an extreme form.” 

The R-rated movie carried warnings urging viewers not to try the stunts themselves, and Paramount offered to provide guards at theaters that wanted extra security to keep those younger than 17 from sneaking in, said Wayne Lewellen, the studio’s head of distribution. 

Adam Sandler and Emily Watson’s quirky romance “Punch-Drunk Love” broke into the top 10 after two weekends in limited release. The film expanded to 481 theaters, up about 400 from last weekend, and came in at No. 7 with $3.5 million. 

The Harlem drug tale “Paid in Full,” featuring Mekhi Phifer and Wood Harris, premiered with $1.4 million in 268 theaters for a $5,224 average. 

Debuting strongly in limited release was “Frida,” starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina as Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera.The film, directed by Julie Taymor (Broadway’s “The Lion King”), took in $200,000 at five theaters. 

Also opening well was “Rodger Dodger,” starring Campbell Scott as an odious womanizer, which grossed $52,000 at four theaters.