Anyone done ceiling repair?

So, we’re installing a home theater system and in the process, my girlfriend slipped off the attic beam and stepped on the ceiling drywall. Her foot didn’t go all of the way through, but the drywall has detached from the brace and has cracks radiating out from it (it’s a acoustic/popcorn texture). I’m hoping that if we’re really, really lucky, we might be able to use drywall screws to tuck the sheet of drywall back up, but then we’ll still have to cover the cracks. Do we need to use mud? Does that popcorn repair stuff in the can work? Is there any chance at all that we won’t have to paint the entire ceiling?