 The Sandra Bullock-George Clooney space drama "Gravity" rocketed to the top of the box office and into industry record books during its opening weekend. Meanwhile, "Runner Runner," the only other film that debuted nationwide this weekend, fell short of even the lowest projections with a disappointing $7.6-million start. Previously, 2011's "Paranormal Activity 3" held that record with its $52.6-million opening. This past summer, it hit an all-time low when only 25% of the opening weekend crowd who went to see the family film "Turbo" were willing to pay to see the movie in 3-D. 
 
 “This gives new hope to exhibitors who have been getting nervous about 3-D,” said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. “But you’ve got to be careful about which movies you release in the format. "The adult drama is back, and fall is the season for the adult drama," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak.
– Critics dubbed Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity "extraordinary," and moviegoers this weekend sealed the deal: The George Clooney-Sandra Bullock space drama soared to No. 1 at the box office, with a $55.6 million opening that set a record for an October debut. That's about $20 million more than Gravity was predicted to make, notes the LA Times; it's also an opening-weekend record for both Clooney and Bullock, adds the AP. Rounding out the top five were Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 ($21.5 million), Runner Runner ($7.6 million), Prisoners ($5.7 million), and Rush ($4.8 million).