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Sandra Bullock’s science fiction movie Gravity has once again topped the US box office.

Gravity reigned at US cinemas for the second week in a row by taking in $44.3m.

Bullock recently described director Alfonso Cuarón’s movie as one of the most challenging projects of her career because she carried many scenes on her own.

Captain Phillips – which stars Tom Hanks in a dramatization of a pirate siege – came in second position in its first weekend of release by making $26m.

The animated comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 continued its box office success by earning $14.2m, for a third place finish.

Machete Kills and Justin Timberlake’s thriller Runner Runner rounded out the top five.

Director Ron Howard’s racing drama Rush fell out of the top five this weekend, by taking in $2.4m to end up in eighth place.

Rush tells the story of the legendary Formula One rivalry between James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl).

The James Gandolfini-starring romantic comedy Enough Said and Pulling Strings dropped out of the top ten.

The US weekend box office top ten in full (studio estimates:
1. (1) Gravity – $44,265,000
2. (-) Captain Phillips – $26,000,000
3. (2) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 – $14,200,000
4. (-) Machete Kills – $3,797,000
5. (3) Runner Runner – $3,725,000
6. (4) Prisoners – $3,665,000
7. (8) Insidious: Chapter 2 – $2,650,000
8. (5) Rush – $2,364,000
9. (6) Don Jon – $2,340,000
10. (7) Baggage Claim – $2,075,000

Gravity has topped the US box office this weekend.

With a weekend opening of $55.5m, the Sandra Bullock and George Clooney-starring movie set a new record for the best ever October opening.

The sci-fi thriller – directed by Alfonso Cuarón – stars Bullock and Clooney as two astronauts who must try to survive in space after their shuttle is damaged.

Gravity beat last weekend’s number one Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, which took the second spot with $21.5m. Its total earnings are $60.5m.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is a follow-up to the 2009 film adapted from Judi and Ron Barrett’s book of the same name.

Prisoners, which also debuted at number one on its first weekend, slid down from second place to fourth place with $5.7m. Its total earnings are $47.8m.

Meanwhile, Enough Said, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini in one of his final roles, climbed up one spot to tenth place with $2.1m.

Two new releases also made the top ten – Runner Runner in third place with $7.6m and Pulling Strings in ninth place with $2.5m.

Rush, Don Jon, Baggage Claim and Insidious Chapter 2 round out the top ten this weekend.

The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Gravity – $55,550,000
2. (1) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 – $21,500,000
3. (-) Runner Runner – $7,600,000
4. (2) Prisoners – $5,700,000
5. (3) Rush – $4,408,000
6. (5) Don Jon – $4,160,000
7. (4) Baggage Claim – $4,125,000
8. (6) Insidious: Chapter 2 – $3,876,000
9. (-) Pulling Strings – $2,500,000
10. (11) Enough Said – $2,150,000

Instructions Not Included has become the most successful Spanish language film in US box office history.

The Mexican comedy drama has earned an estimated $38.6 million over five weekends, reports Deadline.

It passed the previous record holder, Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, which earned a total of $37.6 million when it was released in 2006.

Eugenio Derbez wrote, directed and starred in Instructions Not Included (No se aceptan devoluciones).

It centres around a playboy who finds himself left with a newborn baby by a former fling.

He follows her to Los Angeles, accidentally forging a career as a successful stuntman as he raises his daughter alone.

Instructions Not Included is yet to announce a UK release.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 has debuted at number one at this weekend’s US box office.

The animated family film, which features voice work from Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Hader and Anna Faris, opened with $35m.

The Sony Animated Pictures sequel pushed last week’s winner Prisoners to second place. The Hugh Jackman crime thriller took in $11.27m, raising its total gross to $38.95m.

Ron Howard’s latest film Rush, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl as racing rivals, rose from number 38 to the third spot upon its wider release, earning $10.31m.

Baggage Claim, the romantic comedy starring Paula Patton, also debuted at fourth place with $9.3m in sales.

Meanwhile, Joseph Gordon Levitt’s highly-anticipated directorial debut Don Jon premiered in the fifth spot, opening with $9m.

Instructions Not Included, We’re the Millers and The Butler round out the top ten.

The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 – $35,000,000
2. (1) Prisoners – $11,270,000
3. (38) Rush – $10,314,000
4. (-) Baggage Claim – $9,300,000
5. (-) Don Jon – $9,000,000
6. (2) Insidious Chapter 2 – $6,747,000
7. (3) The Family – $3,674,000
8. (4) Instructions Not Included – $3,380,000
9. (6) We’re the Millers – $2,865,000
10. (7) The Butler – $2,417,000

Hugh Jackman’s Prisoners has debuted at number one at this weekend’s US box office.

The crime thriller, which also stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard and Viola Davis, opened with over $21m.

It beat out last week’s monster hit Insidious Chapter 2, which earned $14.5m this weekend, bringing its total gross up to $60m.

Robert De Niro’s The Family came in at third place, with Instructions Not Included at number four, while Battle of the Year debuted at five with $5m.

Also debuting in the top ten was the 3D conversion of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, which came in at number nine with $3m in ticket sales.

Falling to the bottom spot was the Disney animated film Planes, which took $2m. The film has earned over $80m since its release.

The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Prisoners – $21,430,000
2. (1) Insidious: Chapter 2 – $14,500,000
3. (2) The Family – $7,000,000
4. (6) Instructions Not Included – $5,700,000
5. (-) Battle of the Year – $5,000,000
6. (5) We’re the Millers – $4,670,000
7. (4) The Butler – $4,304,000
8. (3) Riddick – $3,672,000
9. (-) The Wizard of Oz 3D – $2,500,000
10. (8) Planes – $2,302,000

This box-office news can be discussed here

James Wan’s Insidious Chapter 2 celebrated its opening weekend at the top of the US box office, earning $41m.

The horror’s second instalment featured the return of original cast members Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne.

Sliding in directly below Insidious at number two is The Family from Taken 2 director Luc Besson.

The comedic crime-drama – that follows a mobster (Robert De Niro) and his family as they relocate with the help of the witness protection programme – earned an impressive $14.5m, pushing Riddick into third place.

The franchise return of Vin Diesel as the stealth predator managed just $7m in its third week at the US box office.

Landing in the fourth spot was Lee Daniels’ The Butler, down by two with $5.5m, followed closely by We’re the Millers with $5.4m.

Trailing behind after strong earnings last week, Instructions Not Included dropped from the third spot to sixth spot, earning $4.2m.

The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Insidious Chapter 2 – $41,050,000
2. (-) The Family – $14,500,000
3. (1) Riddick – $7,013,000
4. (2) Lee Daniels’ The Butler – $5,582,000
5. (4) We’re the Millers – $5,415,000
6. (3) Instructions Not Included – $4,250,000
7. (5) Planes – $3,066,000
8. (6) One Direction: This is Us – $2,400,000
9. (7) Elysium – $2,050,000
10. (8) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – $1,825,000

This box-office news can be discussed here

Vin Diesel’s Riddick beat Lee Daniels’ The Butler to the top spot this weekend at the US box office.

The franchise returned after a nine year hiatus, grossing more that $18m in its opening weekend.

The sci-fi thriller, that sees Riddick up against an alien race of predators, surpassed The Butler‘s $8.9m earnings.

Instructions Not Included came in third place with $8.1m this weekend, after trading places with We’re the Millers ($7.9m), who fell into fourth place.

The family animation Planes landed in the fifth spot after taking home $4.2m, while One Direction: This is Us trailed closely behind with $4.1m.

Falling into the bottom spots, Matt Damon’s Elysium lost traction, taking in just $3.1m in the number seven spot, followed by Blue Jasmine‘s jump up from twelfth place to the eighth spot with $2.6m.

The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Riddick – $18,673,000
2. (-) The Butler – $8,900,000
3. (4) Instructions Not Included – $8,100,000
4. (3) We’re the Millers – $7,925,000
5. (-) Planes – $4,274,000
6. (1) One Direction: This is Us – $4,100,000
7. (6) Elysium – $3,100,000
8. (12) Blue Jasmine – $2,688,000
9. (10) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – $2,500,000
10. (8) The World’s End – $2,302,000

This box-office news can be discussed here

One Direction’s This is Us has debuted at the top of the US box office.

The UK boyband’s concert documentary directed by Super Size Me helmer Morgan Spurlock took in $17m on its opening weekend.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler was pushed from its two week reign at number one to second place, making $14.74m and raising its total gross to $74m.

We’re the Millers, Planes, and newcomer Instructions Not Included rounded out the top five with a relatively soft box office weekend.

Meanwhile, The Mortal Instruments has continued to underperform, dropping from third to seventh place with $5.2m in ticket sales.

Simon Pegg’s The World’s End also slipped with $4.7m, dropping from number four to number eight.

Getaway, the thriller starring Selena Gomez and Ethan Hawke, made its debut at number nine, taking in $4.5m.

The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (-) One Direction: This is Us – $17,018,000
2. (1) Lee Daniels’ The Butler – $13,500,000
3. (2) We’re the Millers – $9,300,000
4. (5) Planes – $7,756,000
5. (-) Instructions Not Included – $7,500,000
6. (7) Elysium – $6,300,000
7. (3) The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – $5,200,000
8. (4) The World’s End – $4,759,000
9. (-) Getaway – $4,505,000
10. (8) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – $4,425,000

This box-office news can be discussed here

US Star Trek fans have been angered by the upcoming Blu-ray release of Star Trek Into Darkness.

The bonus features on the basic disc for JJ Abrams’ sequel, which stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch, are comprised of just seven featurettes.

However, a number of other features have been made but are not available on the Blu-ray sold by most physical and online vendors.

Instead, extra features have been marketed as ‘retailer exclusives’ and are only available from the versions sold in Target and Best Buy stores.

To see all the bonus features, including extended scenes and trailers, viewers would have to collect all three discs. A commentary by director JJ Abrams has also been recorded but has to be bought separately via iTunes.

Fansite Trek Core has a complete list of the features available on each retailer’s version of the disc.

It is currently unclear whether the extra bonus features will be available to UK fans, although Sainsbury’s list their own retailer exclusive disc which contains the same special features as Target in the US.

Star Trek Into Darkness is released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 2 in the UK, and September 10 in the US.

This news item can be discussed here

Lee Daniels’ The Butler has topped the US box office for the second weekend in a row.

The Oprah Winfrey-starring historical drama took more than $17m to remain on top of the charts, while We’re The Millers held steady in second place with $13.5m.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – the first film in a new teen movie franchise – opened in third position with $9.3m.

Edgar Wright’s science fiction comedy The World’s End followed The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones to take fourth with nearly $9m.

This weekend’s other new entry – the thriller You’re Next – came in at number seven with just over $7m.

Woody Allen’s latest drama Blue Jasmine continued its move up the chart by finishing in ninth place with 4.3m.

The US weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (1) Lee Daniels’ The Butler – $17,018,000
2. (2) We’re the Millers – $13,500,000
3. (-) The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – $9,300,000
4. (-) The World’s End – $8,942,000
5. (5) Planes – $8,567,000
6. (3) Elysium – $7,100,000
7. (-) You’re Next – $7,050,000
8. (6) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – $5,200,000
9. (-) Blue Jasmine – $4,300,000
10. (4) Kick-Ass 2 – $4,270,000