by Matt Marshall
Gravity continues to do circles around the competition, leading the weekend box office for the second consecutive frame. The sci-fi thriller starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock pulled in another $44 million, bringing its 10-day total to over $123 million.
Tom Hanks launched his biggest opener in over three years as Captain Phillips debuted in second place with $26 million. Based on a 2009 cargo ship hijacking off the coast of Somalia, Captain Phillips centers the violent series of events around Hanks’ titular character.
Rounding out the Top 5, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Runner Runner claimed the third and fifth spots while grindhouse newcomer Machete Kills debuted with a weak fourth place finish.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s.
#1 – Gravity (1)
$44.3 million / $123.4 million total
Gravity fever has taken hold over the box office for the second week in a row. Despite solid competition from second place Captain Phillips, the sci-fi thriller dropped a mere 20% from last weekend’s record-breaking opening. With over $44 million more in its bank, Gravity boasts the third highest second weekend of 2013 behind Iron Man 3 and Monsters University. A third run atop the weekend box office is highly possible with $200 million secured before November.
#2 – Captain Phillips (NR)
$26.0 million / $26.0 million total
Last week’s sneak peek of Captain Phillips generated plenty of positive buzz for the Tom Hanks pirate drama. It’s been a while since Hanks has had an opener over $25 million – his last being Toy Story 3 in 2010. It’s too early to tell how much of an impact Captain Phillips will make during awards season, but it’s off to a fine start.
#3 – Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2)
$14.2 million / $78.0 million total
The gap between Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and its sequel continues to widen – just not in the direction Sony was hoping for. Trailing the first film by $3 million after three weeks of release, Cloudy 2 will still need to gobble up a few more weeks at the box office to cross the century mark. Cloudy 2 only has three weeks left before Free Birds feasts on the family film scene.
#4 – Machete Kills (NR)
$3.8 million / $3.8 million total
The title reads Machete Kills, but ironically Machete was the one killed over the weekend. The grindhouse spin-off starring Danny Trejo is one of the worst openers for a film in over 2500 theaters. Compared to the 2010 film, Machete Kills opened to about 35% of the first film’s opening weekend. At this rate, the total run of Machete Kills will not even match Machete’s opening weekend.
#5 – Runner Runner (3)
$3.7 million / $14.1 million total
Ben Affleck’s gambling thriller Runner Runner folded over the weekend with a 52% drop from last weekend. Runner Runner currently holds a slim $60,000 lead over sixth place finisher Prisoners. Actual results on Monday will determine if Runner Runner stayed in the Top 5 or will be swapped for the Hugh Jackman kidnapping drama.
Opening Next Week: Carrie, Escape Plan, The Fifth Estate, 12 Years a Slave (limited), All is Lost (limited), I’m In Love With A Church Girl (limited)
Source: Box Office Mojo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Matt Marshall is a YouTube movie reviewer who hosts MNMreviews. He has a B.A. in Communications/Journalism from St. John Fisher College and resides in Rochester, NY.
