Gravity, from Children of Men director Alfonso Cuarón was the top release of the past month, grossing over US$426m worldwide (including US$218m in North America) since its 4 October release. The film stars box office heavyweights George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Bullock plays Dr Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney). While on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes and their shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone in space.
The 2nd biggest release of the month was Captain Phillips, from Green Zone director, Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks. The film is based on the true story of merchant mariner Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage by Somali Pirates during the Maersk Alabama hijacking in 2009.
Since its 11 October release the film has grossed US$125m worldwide – of which US$82m was in North America alone. Overseas receipts are expected to improve significantly going forward as the film is yet to be released in a number of locations and should reach over US$200m worldwide by closing.
The much awaited Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger prison film Escape Plan also opened this month and has performed relatively well at the international box office, grossing over US$50m worldwide since its 18 October release.
The film stars Schwarzenegger and Stallone as inmates who try to escape from a maximum security hi-tech prison. We expect the film to end off at around US$100m total worldwide gross, more than covering the film’s US$50m budget. This return is significantly healthier than the two last films from either of these two actors: Stallone’s Bullet to the Head grossed only US$22m off a budget of US$55m whilst Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand grossed U$37m off a budget of US$30m.
Other major October releases included Runner Runner, Machete Kills and The Fifth Estate.
The Fifth Estate tells the story of Julian Assange. Despite a fair amount of hype, the film has performed poorly so far, earning only US$6m worldwide off a budget of US$28m since its 18 October release.
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