Opening on top, as expected, was the pointless comedy Bad Grandpa, which actually outdid expectations and earned a solid $32.1 million, for a strong $9,609 per-venue average. That was above analysts' expectations, which were forecasting a debut in the low-to-mid 20's millions. Buzz wasn't that great, and spin-offs in general hardly ever succeed. But in the Jack*** franchise, which has a loyal following, it appears this was a rare case of repeat business. Grandpa posted the second-largest unadjusted opening in the franchise, behind the 3D entry's $50 million opening. With this not being in 3D however, the attendance was probably only down a little bit from that movie. Reviews were generally positive, while audiences gave it a "B" CinemaScore. In the end, it will likely be front-loaded in the weeks ahead, even with little comedy competition next month. Distributor Paramount Pictures, who produced it for $15 million, made a fairly good decision putting this here a couple of months ago and delaying Paranormal Activity 5 to January, as there was no other comedy debuting in the Fall season.
After topping for three straight weekends (a 2013-best), Gravity finally had to surrender the box office throne. The sci-fi thriller had another light hold, off 33% to $20.1 million, for a 24-day pick-up of a huge $199.6 million, and became just the 9th movie of 2013 to pass $200 million Monday. Look for a finish of around $250 million, which would make it the biggest October release of all-time. Captain Phillips had a solid hold in third, off 29% to $11.6 million, for a strong $69.9 million pick-up in 17 days. Should it hold like this down the road, the drama could pass $100 million.
Spending five-straight weekends in the Top 5, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 was off 35% to $6.3 million, for a $100.8 million gross in one month of release. In the process, it became the year's 25th movie to reach the century mark. With Free Birds debuting on Friday though, its' likely the sequel will top out at just over $110 million. Despite Halloween not being over yet, Carrie held like a typical genre flick, plummeting 63% to $6 million, for a mediocre $26.1 million in 10 days. Fellow second weekend release Escape Plan couldn't fare much better, and was down 54% to $4.6 million, for a $17.6 million pick-up in the same amount of time, and will likely top out at $25 million.
Playing in just 123 locations, 12 Years a Slave broke into the Top 10 with a superb $2.1 million, for a per-venue average of a fantastic $17,352. The Oscar contender looks to expand further in the weeks ahead. Another limited release, Enough Said, expanded to roughly 850 locations, and was off just 9% to $1.6 million, for a $13.1 million gross in 37 days. Rounding out the Top 10 was Prisoners, which was off 48% to $1.1 million, for a solid $59.1 million gross in the same amount of time.
Internationally, Gravity topped with $36.6 million from 90% of the international marketplace, and has earned over $350 million worldwide so far, on its' way to around $600 million. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 expanded to a few territories and added $17.9 million, for an early worldwide gross of $150 million, on its' way to at least the same as its' predecessor. Turbo continued to roll out, and added $14.2 million from 23 markets, and could finish with around $300 million worldwide (its at near $250 million so far). Captain Phillips and Bad Grandpa rounded out the Top 5 with solid grosses of $12.1 million and $8.1 million. The latter opened solidly in its first 16 markets, while the former is approaching $100 million worldwide so far...
