"Gravity," starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, topped the box office this weekend and is the highest grossing debuting film for the month of October in history. Warner Bros. estimated the film would earn $45 million during its opening weekend, but the film exceed estimates earning $55.5 million. The space drama has a very high 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is getting a lot of Oscar buzz to boot.
"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" dropped one spot earning an additional $21.5 million. Ben Affleck's new film "Runner Runner" had a disappointing debut, landing in third place. The film has been the victim of lackluster reviews with a disastrous 8% Rotten Tomatoes rating. "Prisoners" dropped from second to fourth place this weekend, earning an additional $5.7 million and Ron Howard's "Rush" fell from third place to fifth, earning the Formula One biopic an additional $4.41 million.
Next weekend watch for four new films to shake-up the box office charts. Debuting this Friday, October 11 are Tom Hanks in "Captain Phillips," the action thriller "Machete Kills," Benedict Cumberbatch's new drama "The Fifth Estate" and the updated Shakespeare story "Romeo and Juliet." Watch for "Captain Phillips" and "Gravity" to battle for next weekend's top spot.
Box office statistics from imdb.com
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Whatever your movie choice this week, please remember your movie theater etiquette: silence your cellphones and no texting, please don't talk during the film and remove your children if they become a distraction to other audience members. Don't forget that laughing, crying and cheering are always approved behavior and even encouraged.
-Kay Shackleton is a film historian with special focus on Silent Films, see her work at SilentHollywood.com
