GRAVITY HARDLY DROPS

Gravity defied it as it slipped just 21 percent in its second weekend, one of the smallest drops ever for a film that has opened with more than $55 million. While the estimated $44.2-million take for the Alfonso Cuarón-directed space drama easily surpassed the opening of Captain Phillips, the new Tom Hanks thriller; that film, too, performed well above expectations, earning a surprising $26 million, Hanks’s biggest live-action debut since the $46-million debut of Angels & Demons in May 2009. On the other hand, Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills was quickly killed off with about $3.8 million. That figure did not represent a total disaster, however. Made for $20 million, it was picked up by Open Road for $2 million. Gravity, which had also been piling up impressive ticket sales at midweek, soared well past the $100-million mark, bringing its estimated gross to $123 million through Sunday.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:

1. Gravity, $44.3 million; 2. Captain Phillips, $26 million; 3. Cloudy with a Chance Of Meatballs 2, $14.2 million; 4. Machete Kills, $3.8 million; 5. Runner Runner, $3.7 million; 6. Prisoners, $3.7 million; 7. Insidious: Chapter 2, $2.6 million; 8. Rush, $2.4 million; 9. Don Jon, $2.3 million; 10. Baggage Claim, $2 million.