We already have a full box office report for you, but right now we want to focus on what's undoubtedly the biggest story of the weekend, and the entire fall so far: holy crap you guys, Gravity made a ton of money. How much money? Let's break it down by the records it shattered, according to Deadline.
It's the biggest October opening of all time. Plenty of movies that go on to become hits open in October, from last year's Argo to The Ring, but they've never come out of the gate this huge. The closest competitor for Gravity's $55 million is Paranormal Activity 3, which opened to $42 million 2011.
It's the biggest October opening for an original film, by far. The record for an original film opening in October previously belonged to Shark Tale, which made $47 million opening weekend in 2004. But given that we're comparing a PG-13 sci-fi film to an animated movie, it's really no comparison at all.
It's Sandra Bullock's biggest opening ever. Yes, really-- her two biggest-opening films used to be The Blind Side and The Proposal, which made roughly $34 million in their opening weekends, until this summer's The Heat, which took in a mighty $39 million back in June. Gravity is huge for Bullock, not only in sheer numbers but for the way it proves she's a draw even in sci-fi, a genre she's never really done before.
It's also George Clooney's biggest opening ever. Oh, it gets even better. Before this weekend, Clooney's biggest-ever opening was Batman & Robin, with $42 million. His biggest-grossing domestic film is 2000's The Perfect Storm, which went on to make $182 million in North America. We'll see if Gravity can match that.
59% of the audience was over the age of 35. That detail comes from The Los Angeles Times, and while they don't compare that to other films, it's hard to imagine many other films opening with so much money and such a heavily adult audiences. You know, adults-- the people they don't really make big movies for at all.
As you might have seen, we're as crazy about Gravity as audiences are, raving not just about the movie itself but its use of 3D. If you saw it this weekend and helped set those box office records, hop in the comments and let us know what you thought. You can also check out one of the many stunning trailers for Gravity below.
