‘Gravity’ stays top of N. America box office

LOS ANGELES, USA – Space disaster movie “Gravity” continued its meteoric path at the top of the North American box office on its second weekend, earning nearly $43.2 million, industry data showed Monday, October 14.

The film, starring Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts adrift in space after a devastating accident, has already generated rave reviews and Oscars buzz. (Check out Rappler’s reviews on “Gravity” by KD Suarez and Carljoe Javier. – Ed.)

It remained well ahead of the second place finisher, new release “Captain Phillips,” based on a true story and starring Tom Hanks as a cargo ship captain captured by Somali pirates. It earned $25.7 million, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Dropping to 3rd place in its 3rd week, animated sequel “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2” took in almost $13.8 million.

New release

Another new release took 4th slot: action flick “Machete Kills,” starring Danny Trejo as a US government recruit battling through Mexico to stop a plot to launch a weapon into space. It earned more than $3.8 million in sales.

Not far behind in 5th place was crime drama “Runner Runner” starring Justin Timberlake as a Princeton graduate student who travels to Costa Rica to confront a tycoon (played by Ben Affleck) who he believes has taken him for a ride on an online poker site. The film earned almost $3.8 million.

In 6th place was crime thriller “Prisoners.” Starring Hugh Jackman as a desperate parent in search of his child and Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective in charge of the investigation, the film pulled in more than $3.6 million.

Horror sequel “Insidious: Chapter 2” rose one position to 7th place with more than $2.7 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 8th place, 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, earned just under $2.39 million.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s raunchy comedy-drama “Don Jon,” written and directed by “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Inception” actor, took 9th place with $2.37 million in receipts.

The film sees him play a pornography addict who seeks to change his ways to win the woman of his dreams, played by Scarlett Johansson.

And rounding out the top 10 was “Baggage Claim,” a romantic comedy about a lovelorn flight attendant who traverses America looking for Mr Right. The film took in $2 million. – Rappler.com

Also check out the reviews on ‘Runner Runner’ and ‘Rush’ here on Rappler. – Ed.