While there are few things bloggers enjoy more than mocking Jessica Simpson, it seems her universally panned movie “Blonde Ambition” might not have been such a mistake after all. Once execs saw the final cut, they banished the film straight to DVD. However to save Jessica’s ego, they gave it a teeny, tiny limited run at a few theaters in Texas for one weekend. It grossed a (probably) record setting $2000 over the two days. That made Paris Hilton’s recent, disastrous turn in “The Hottie and the Nottie” look like a relatively good business venture in comparison – it brought in $26,000 it’s opening weekend. Still abysmal and embarrassing, though to be fair “The Hottie and the Nottie” opened on 111 screens, whereas “Blonde Ambition” opened on 5. In the competition for who could be the biggest loser, it seemed like Simpson was going to have to tuck her tail between her legs and take the title. BUT! At the last minute, she’s been spared – “Blonde Ambition” managed to take in a not-totally-mortifying $253,008. In the Ukraine. That’s right, Eastern Europe confusingly loves Jessica Simpson.

Is Jessica Simpson the David Hasselhoff of Ukraine? The blond starlet seems to be the toast of the Eastern European nation. Her latest film, Blonde Ambition, hit No. 1 in Ukraine, grossing $253,008 for the weekend of Feb. 14-17, Box Office Mojo reports.

How to explain the comedy’s success abroad? One word: escapism.

“The former Soviet nations have a sweet tooth for straight-up comedies,” Conor Bresnan, editor in chief of Box Office Mojo International, tells PEOPLE. “When these comedies have big name celebrities like Jessica Simpson’s, that’s all that’s needed to sell the movie. Russian and Ukrainian audiences have an even bigger urge for escapism than Americans. So, films like Blonde Ambition will gross more than No Country for Old Men.

And this may only be the beginning for Blonde Ambition. Next stop: Bulgaria.

[From People]

I understand escapism, but isn’t there a point at which it becomes so bad that you actually feel guilty for watching it? And isn’t pretty much anything starring Jessica Simpson well beyond that point? The film will likely still end up a loser. Generally studios recoup the film’s budget in America and make their profits overseas. Still, it’s a little less embarrassing overall. So if Jessica’s first “empty feel good” film made around $2000 in America and that translated to $253,008 in the Ukraine, and Paris Hilton’s “empty feel good” film made around $26,000 in America, that would translate to… what? I don’t do math. I’m just saying, Paris could still make a killing. Oh the horror. I can’t say why, but somehow I sense that Jessica Simpson is just smart enough to know she should be embarrassed by what happened with her movie, regardless of what the Ukrainian film-going public may think. Something tells me Paris Hilton isn’t that smart.