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 +0.00%) 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 (SNE 1.77%) 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 +0.00%) 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 +1.17%) Universal.
