There’s been plenty of interest in Gravity, but few expected it to do as well as it has on its opening weekend in the US. It took an impressive $55.5 million, a new record for October, outdoing the previous best, 2011’s Paranormal Activity 3.
Interestingly it’s also the best opening for both George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. With critics and audiences raving, it should continue to do well over the coming weeks, making it a bona fide mega-hit. Some even suggest it could make a decent awards runs this winter, which is very unusual for a sci-fi movie.
Not all the new movies did as well, as Runner Runner bombed with just $7.6 million. Even the combined star power of Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck couldn’t draw audiences out, partly because the marketing failed to make it clear what the movie is about. It also seems viewers didn’t think much of it, suggesting it’s unlikely to have much staying power either.
The only other new entry was Pulling Strings, which took $2.5 million to land in ninth place. It’s the second movie in the last month aimed at Hispanic audiences that’s hit the top 10, which is impressive as usually they’re barely noticed at the box office. The other film, Instructions Not Included, is now the highest grossing Spanish-language film ever at the US box office, with $41.2 million. Pulling Strings has little chance of besting that, but it’s still doing well.
Take a look at the US box office top 10 for the weekend of October 4th-7th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Gravity | $55.5 | $55,5 |
| 2 | Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 | $21.5 | $60.5 |
| 3 | Runner Runner | $7.6 | $7.6 |
| 4 | Prisoners | $5.7 | $47.8 |
| 5 | Rush | $4.4 | $18.0 |
| 6 | Don Jon | $4.1 | $16.0 |
| 7 | Baggage Claim | $4.1 | $15.1 |
| 8 | Insidious Chapter 2 | $3.8 | $74.7 |
| 9 | Pulling Strings | $2.5 | $2.5 |
| 10 | Enough Said | $2.1 | $5.3 |