Alfonso Cuaron's 3D space epic ‘Gravity,’ starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, debuts to a record-breaking $55.8 million in North America, the top October opening of all-time; Sony’s ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’ comes in second place with $21.5 million.
Alfonso Cuaron's 3D space epic Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, debuted to a record-breaking $55.8 million in North America, the top October opening of all-time. Overseas, Gravity also won the weekend with $27.4 million for a worldwide total of $83 million. Produced for roughly $100 million, the film is doing big business for distributor Warner Bros. in 3D cinemas, with a reported $44 million in ticket sales since the film’s Friday opening. IMAX theaters generated $11.2 million in North America, representing the top October showing of all-time for the large-format cinema chain.
Sony’s animated feature, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, came in second place over its second weekend out, bringing in $21.5 million for a North American total of $60.6 million. Overseas, Cloudy 2 took in an additional $8.1 million for an international total of $11.2 million.
New Regency and 20th Century Fox's gambling thriller Runner Runner, starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, brought in $7.6 million for a third place showing at the North American box office. Internationally, the film, which cost $30 million to make, grossed $23.6 million for a world total of $31.2 million.
Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros.’ Prisoners came in fourth place over its third weekend out, adding $7.6 million and pushing the film's domestic total to $55.6 million.
Ron Howard's Rush fell to number five in its second week, taking in $4.4 million for a North American total of $18.3 million. The Formula One drama, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, is making up ground overseas, where it has already earned upwards of $30 million.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut Don Jon likewise saw a substantial decline in its second outing, coming in sixth place with earnings of $4.2 million for a domestic total of $15.2 million.
Pantelion Films -- the joint venture between Lionsgate and Grupo Televisa -- entered the market with another Spanish-language film on the heels of the success of Instructions Not Included. Romantic comedy Pulling Strings, starring Mexican celebrity Jaime Camil, placed ninth with a $2.5 million debut.
Rounding out the list at number 10, Nicole Holofcener's Enough Said, starring the late James Gandolfini opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, cracked the top 10 chart as it expanded over its third weekend, grossing $2.2 million for Fox Searchlight. The film's domestic total is $5.4 million.
Not far behind was the Metropolitan Opera's The Met: Live in HD program, which kicked off its eighth season Saturday with a live transmission of Eugene Onegin. The broadcast grossed $1.9 million from 800 theaters in North America, with an additional 108,000 people watching it overseas.
Sony held sneak previews of Paul Greengrass' Somali pirate drama Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, a week ahead of its opening. Sony said there were sell-out crowds in cities such as Los Angeles and New York, but that the screenings were 75 percent full on average.
Box office numbers were obtained on boxofficemojo.com.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
