Alfonso Cuaron’s premium-priced space drama starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney is looking at a record-setting $55.5M weekend for what execs tell me is the largest October opening weekend of all time. Other records include the largest IMAX opening in October, largest openings ever for Bullock and Clooney, and 2nd largest for Cuaron. Good thing then Warner Bros Pictures chief Jeff Robinov took this script out of turnaround at Universal after Cuaron and his reps asked for it back when David Linde left. After all, Cuaron really freshened WB’s Harry Potter franchise with the Prisoner Of Azkaban. This Oscar-buzzed original thriller scripted by Cuaron with his son Jonas about astronauts with its dazzling VFX earned an impressive ’A-’ CinemaScore from audiences. So the studio is predicting it’ll have long legs.
U.S. and Canada Box Office | Weekend of Oct. 04, 2013 -Oct. 06, 2013
| This Wk | Last Wk | Title | Distributor | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Wks Out | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gravity | Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution | $55,550,000 | $55,550,000 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 | Sony Pictures Releasing | $21,500,000 | $60,557,000 | 2 | |
| 3 | Runner Runner | 20th Century Fox Distribution | $7,600,000 | $7,600,000 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Prisoners | Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution | $5,700,000 | $47,880,000 | 3 | |
| 5 | 3 | Rush | Universal Pictures | $4,408,280 | $18,094,600 | 3 | |
| 6 | 5 | Don Jon | Relativity Media | $4,160,000 | $16,077,300 | 2 | |
| 7 | 4 | Baggage Claim | Fox Searchlight Pictures | $4,125,000 | $15,185,100 | 2 | |
| 8 | 6 | Insidious: Chapter 2 | FilmDistrict | $3,876,000 | $74,749,600 | 4 | |
| 9 | Pulling Strings | Pantelion Films | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | 1 | ||
| 10 | 11 | Enough Said | Fox Searchlight Pictures | $2,150,000 | $5,386,600 | 3 | |
| 11 | 8 | Instructions Not Included | Lionsgate | $1,850,000 | $41,266,100 | 6 | |
| 12 | 9 | We’re the Millers | Warner Bros. Pictures | $1,610,000 | $144,900,000 | 9 | |
| 13 | 7 | The Family | Relativity Media Distribution Group | $1,473,000 | $34,578,900 | 4 | |
| 14 | 10 | Lee Daniels’ The Butler | The Weinstein Company | $1,188,000 | $112,366,000 | 8 | |
| 15 | Grace Unplugged | Roadside Attractions | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | 1 | ||