Gravity Crosses The $500 Million Worldwide Box Office Mark

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

gravity

It’s official! Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity is a monster hit! Over the weekend, Cuarón’s space epic crossed the $500 million worldwide box office mark, totaling a href=”http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=gravity.htm”>$514.8 million ($240.5 million came from domestic theaters, while $274.3 million of its total gross came from international markets). A few months ago, Gravity became the highest-grossing movie in the month of October, earning $55.7 million during its opening weekend.

Gravity is expected to stay in theaters past Thanksgiving. “We know what we have here,” Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman recently told Variety. “This is a phenomenon where people are asking friends and family not only if they’ve seen the film, but where.”

A majority of the film’s sales came from added surcharges to ticket prices including 3D and IMAX. In fact, it would cost you $21.50 to watch the film in New York City alone. Greg Foster, chairman of IMAX, called Gravity an “early Christmas present” for studios and theatrical exhibitors. “The habit of going to the movies is created when you have a great experience,” he said. About $100 million of Gravity‘s total box office can be attributed to 3D and IMAX add-ons and repeat viewings.

Gravity is also Sandra Bullock and George Clooney’s highest-grossing movie of all-time. The 3D spectacle beat out Bullock’s previous box office hit Speed, which took in $350.2 million in 1994, and George Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven, which hit $450.6 million in 2001. The film is Alfonso Cuarón’s second-highest box office gross, after Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which took in $796.6 million in 2004.

Gravity currently has the #5 spot on the list of the highest domestic earners, sandwiched between Pixar’s Monsters University at #4 and Fast & Furious 6 (appropriately enough, slotted #6). On the highest worldwide box office list, Cuarón’s space odyssey sits at #8, between World War Z at #7 and Oz: The Great and Powerful at #9.

The new box office total will only increase the film’s chances during awards season, and it’s considered one of the frontrunners for Best Picture, along with Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Paul Greengrass’ Captain Philips, and David O. Russell’s American Hustle. Gravity is also the favorite in the Best Female Actor in a Leading Role category for Sandra Bullock, Best Original Screenplay for Alfonso Cuarón and Jonás Cuarón, Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki, and Best Live-Action Short Film for Aningaaq, Jonás Cuarón’s Gravity-related short film.

Gravity doesn’t have an official Blu-ray/DVD release date yet. It will also most likely be released as a 3D Blu-ray, but the home video version can’t replicate the IMAX experience at home. That immersive experience is why people are watching the film again and again while it’s still in theaters. One of the last movies to have seen such high box office numbers for repeat viewings was James Cameron’s Avatar in 2009.