Gravity defied gravity this past weekend. Rather than sinking to the bottom of the period's box-office charts, it soared to position No. 1. The debuting movie took in $55.6 million in gross ticket receipts, according to industry tracker Box Office Mojo, giving it the record high for any title opening in October. Gravity is distributed by Time Warner (TWX) subsidiary Warner Bros.
The distant No. 2 was last week's champion, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. The animated sequel raked in $21.5 million, Box Office Mojo said, putting a few dollars into the treasure chest of Sony (SONY -0.13%) via its Columbia distribution unit.
The only other debuting movie in the top five was the poorly reviewed thriller Runner Runner, which, according to Box Office Mojo figures, sold $7.6 million worth of tickets. That's considered a disappointment, particularly in light of the film's estimated $30 million production budget. Twenty-First Century Fox's (FOX) Twentieth Century Fox is the distributor.
Nos. 4 and 5 were a pair of single-word titles already in release -- Prisoners and Rush. Box Office Mojo said the former, a dark crime drama, took in $5.7 million over the weekend. Ticket receipts for the period Formula 1 racing saga Rush dropped by more than 50% on a week-over-week basis, coming in at $4.4 million. Prisoners is distributed by Warner Bros. and Rush by Comcast's (CMCSA 1.85%) Universal.
