‘Gravity’ sets record with North America box office debut

Agence France-Presse

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'Gravity's' $55.8-M debut was the biggest ever for a film released in October, traditionally a slow month for the box office

FACE OF FEAR. Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) in a scene from the movie "Gravity." Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

LOS ANGELES, USA – Space disaster movie “Gravity” soared to the top of North America’s box office in its debut weekend making $55.8 million, a record for an October release, industry data showed Monday, October 7.

The film, directed by Oscar-nominated Alfonso Cuaron and starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney – both Oscar winners – as astronauts adrift in space after a devastating accident, has already been winning rave reviews and Oscars buzz.

The debut was the biggest ever for a film released in October, traditionally a slow month for the box office, beating the $52 million scared up by “Paranormal 3” in 2011, according to the IMDb movie industry website.

It also blew away the second place finisher, animated sequel “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2,” which took in $21 million in its second week in theaters, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Another new release opened in the third slot: crime drama “Runner Runner,” starring Justin Timberlake as a Princeton grad student who travels to Costa Rica to confront a tycoon, played by Ben Affleck, he believes has taken him for a ride on an online poker site. The film earned $7.7 million.

Crime thriller “Prisoners” fell to fourth place. The film, starring Hugh Jackman as a desperate parent in search of his child and Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective in charge of the investigation, pulled in $5.7 million.

In fifth place was Formula One motorsport drama “Rush,” Ron Howard’s acclaimed account of the famous duel for the 1976 world championship between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, earning $4.5 million.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s raunchy comedy-drama “Don Jon,” written and directed by “The Dark Knight Rises” actor, took sixth with $4.2 million in receipts.

The film sees Gordon-Levitt play a porn addict who seeks to change his ways in order to win the woman of his dreams played by Scarlett Johansson.

Not far behind, in seventh place, was “Baggage Claim,” a romantic comedy about a lovelorn flight attendant who traverses America looking for Mr Right. The film took in $4.1 million.

Horror sequel “Insidious: Chapter 2” slid to eighth place with $3.9 million. The film, starring Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson as a haunted husband and wife, is a follow-up to the successful 2010 horror flick “Insidious.”

In ninth spot was romantic comedy “Pulling Strings,” which stars Laura Ramsay as a US consular official in Mexico who finds herself mixed up with a mariachi singer, played by Jaime Camil, whose visa she rejected the day before.

The film directed by Pedro Pablo Ibarra debuted in the US and Canada with $2.5 million in ticket sales.

And, rounding out the top 10, another romantic comedy, “Enough Said,” starring James Gandolfini in one of his last roles before his death this year, earned $2.2 million. – Rappler.com

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