'Gravity' rises No. 1, sets box-office record

The Sandra Bullock-George Clooney space drama "Gravity" rocketed to the top of the box office and into industry record books during its opening weekend, The Associated Press reports.

The Warner Bros. adventure debuted with $55.55 million in North American ticket sales, the biggest October opening ever and the biggest openings for Bullock and Clooney.

Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution, credited director and co-writer Alfonso Cuarón, who takes viewers into orbit with a story set almost entirely in space that explores challenges faced by two astronauts during a spacewalk. Cuarón's team developed equipment and technology to replicate the weightlessness of space.

"It's never been seen before, visual effects like this," Fellman said.