‘Gravity’ Soars At The Box Office With Estimates Near $50 Million

As expected Gravity, the Sandra Bullock, George Clooney space saga is soaring at the box office on Friday and estimates have it nearing the $50 million mark for the three-day weekend.

The film, which has been receiving rave reviews, not only for the stunning special effects, but because of the excellent performances from Bullock and Clooney, has received an almost unprecedented, 98 percent Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes with a 91 percent audience approval. The site gives it five out of five stars.

“(Director) Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity is an eerie, tense sci-fi thriller that’s masterfully directed and visually stunning.” the website states in its description.

Friday saw the sci-fi flick earn an estimated $17.5 million and the studio expects word of mouth will fill even more seats on Saturday and Sunday. The fact that the film is rated PG-13, could mean families will make a trip to the theater too.

One of the biggest post-summer-blockbuster releases, Gravity’s official synopsis is as follows:

Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness.

The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left.

But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake’s Runner Runner didn’t fare as well, with barely $2.8 million estimates for Friday and only $8 million expected for the weekend. It doesn’t bode well for Affleck who received heavy criticism after being cast as Batman for the Man Of Steel sequel.

Gravity is looking like a strong Oscar contender in several categories including Best Actress for Sandra Bullock and definitely many of the technical categories. The strong box office numbers won’t hurt either.