‘Gravity’ still hovering atop N. America box office

BULLOCK AND CLOONEY. FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES – Space disaster movie “Gravity” hovered atop the North American box office for a third consecutive week, earning just over $31 million, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The film, stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney – both Oscar winners – as astronauts adrift in space after a devastating accident, and has already generated rave reviews and Oscars buzz.

It remained well ahead of second place finisher, “Captain Phillips,” based on a true story and starring Tom Hanks as a cargo ship captain captured by Somali pirates.

That film earned $17.3 million in its second week in theaters, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Not far behind, with $17 million in ticket sales, was new release “Carrie,” the latest film adaptation of the Stephen King supernatural horror tale about an outcast high school girl out for revenge.

Dropping to fourth place in its fourth week, animated sequel “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2” took in $10.1 million.

Another new release took the fifth slot: action flick “Escape Plan,” starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger as inmates trying to break out of the world’s most secret and secure prison. It debuted with an estimated $9.8 million in ticket sales.

In sixth place was crime thriller “Prisoners.” The film, starring Hugh Jackman as a desperate parent in search of his child and Jake Gyllenhaal as the detective in charge of the investigation, pulled in $2.1 million.

Surging back into the top ten this week was romantic comedy, “Enough Said,” starring James Gandolfini in one of his last roles before his death this year. It earned $1.8 million, good enough for seventh place.

“The Fifth Estate,” based on the true story of Julian Assange’s founding of Wikileaks debuted in eight position, earning a paltry $1.7 million in its opening weekend.

Not far behind in ninth place was crime drama “Runner Runner,” starring Justin Timberlake as a Princeton graduate student who travels to Costa Rica to confront a tycoon, played by Ben Affleck, whom he believes has taken him for a ride on an online poker site. The film earned $1.6 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was horror sequel “Insidious: Chapter 2” with $1.5 million.

The film, starring Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson as a haunted husband and wife, is a follow-up to the successful 2010 horror flick “Insidious.”