Box Office Results: October 18-20

Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity held the top spot at the box office for the third weekend in a row as three new films posted disappointing results. The space thriller with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney continues to capture audiences as it took in $30 million in week 3. This is right there with my $29.7M projection. Gravity has grossed an astonishing $170 million so far and still has $300 million in its sights.

In its second weekend, Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks slid a fairly modest 35% for a $16.7 million gross, below my $18.5M projection. The Somali pirate saga is on pace to  cross the century mark and be Hanks’s highest live-action earner in four years since 2009’s Angels and Demons. 

Opening with less than expected numbers in third place is the horror remake Carrie. The update of 1976’s Brian De Palma’s classic grossed $16.3 million, well below my $22.4M estimate. On top of its lackluster debut, horror flicks tend to suffer large drop-offs in subsequent weekend so the future looks rather bleak for this one.

The animated sequel Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 continues to hang around in the top five as it made $10 million for the four spot. This is right on pace with my $9.3M projection.

Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger saw their action fest Escape Plan open right on target with most projections in fifth place with a so-so $9.6 million, just below my $10.1M estimate. Clearly the two stars are no longer the draw they were in the 80s and 90s, but the pic did outdo the action stars solo entries from earlier this year The Last Stand and Bullet to the Head.

Finally, the Wikileaks drama The Fifth Estate starring Benedict Cumberbatch had a terrible opening with only $1.7 million, well under my what I thought was a modest $5.8M projection. The pic received many negative reviews and audiences simply ignored it.

That’s all for now, my friends. I’ll have predictions posts up later today for next weekend’s newbies, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa and The Counselor soon enough!