It's one giant leap for Alfonso Cuaron's acclaimed sci-fi epic, Gravity, as the long-awaited film broke October records on the way to a $55M debut. The film has now surpassed Paranormal Activity's $52M to become the top all-time grosser for the month, fueled by overwhelming critical reviews that emphasized the need to catch it in more expensive IMAX theaters. The larger IMAX format accounted for $11M of the overall ticket sales, with roughly 80% of those also in 3D. It certainly didn't hurt to have stars like Sandra Bullock and George Clooney tackling a genre neither is really known for, and since both stars' movies tend to have long theatrical runs we can be looking at a massive blockbuster if attendance doesn't slip too quickly.
2. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2- $21.5M/$60.5M
Slipping only 37% from last week was Cloudy 2, making the most of being the only animated comedy available for the next few weeks. That's basically identical to where the first film was after its second weekend.
3. Runner Runner- $7.6M
Despite Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake fronting the online gambling flick, Runner Runner, the film failed to flop the nuts at the box office. Marketing for the film was lousy to start, focusing on its star power rather than offering a compelling reason beyond that to see it. So it came across as a generic crime film that will turn up on pay cable in short order, which to be honest is exactly what it is. Affleck won't be hurt by this, but it's another example of Timberlake not quite being ready for prime time.Working in its favor is the $11M already earned overseas, so it should be able to make up for the $30M budget before too long.
4. Prisoners- $5.7M/$47.8M
5. Rush- $4.4M/$18M
6. Don Jon- $4.1M/$16M
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's $6M directorial debut held strong in its second weekend, dropping 52% and solidifying the film as a solid, small scale hit.
7. Baggage Claim- $4.1M/$15.1M
8. Insidious Chapter 2- $3.8M/$74.7M
9. Pulling Strings- $2.5M
As the surprising Latino-themed smash Instructions Not Included exits the top 10, another one takes its place in Pulling Strings. The bilingual rom-com, which stars Jaime Camil, Laura Ramsey, and Stockard Channing; not exactly household names; opened at 387 theaters and pulled an impressive $6400 per site.
10. Enough Said- $2.1M/$5.3M
Driven by strong reviews and high praise for Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini in his final lead performance, Nicole Holofcener's Enough Said cracks the top 10 in its third week. Holofcener's brand of high-minded comedies have never been huge earners, 2006's Friends with Money topping the list at $13M, but Enough Said seems to be riding a wave of solid buzz that could carry it through the Oscar season.
