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Sideshow: 'Gravity' heads skyward

'Gravity' heads skyward Alfonso Cuaron was awarded the top film honor from the Directors Guild of America for Gravity Saturday night, giving the lost-in-space saga an edge on the journey to the Oscars.

This film image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Sandra Bullock in a scene from "Gravity." The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014. The 86th Academy Awards will be held on March 2. (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, File)
This film image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Sandra Bullock in a scene from "Gravity." The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014. The 86th Academy Awards will be held on March 2. (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, File)Read more
    by By Tirdad Derakhshani, Inquirer Staff Writer | Columnist
    Published 

'Gravity' heads skyward

Alfonso Cuaron was awarded the top film honor from the Directors Guild of America for Gravity Saturday night, giving the lost-in-space saga an edge on the journey to the Oscars.

In the recent bustle of Hollywood honors, Gravity, David O. Russell's con-artist caper American Hustle, and Steve McQueen's historical epic 12 Years a Slave had been competing in the tightest three-way Oscar race in years. But Cuaron's film now has the upper hand, and with 10 Oscar nominations, is likely to be the biggest overall winner on March 2. American Hustle also has 10 nominations, but in tougher, more competitive races than Gravity's mainly craft nods.

Meanwhile, 12 Years a Slave's early strength ebbed after Saturday's Gravity win and the results of the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild awards, at which American Hustle and Gravity had the stronger showings.

Nice 'Ride'

The Kevin Hart comedy Ride Along continued to speed through a quiet month, topping the box office with $21.2 million in its second weekend, while monster thriller I, Frankenstein couldn't be roused from the dead, opening with just $8.3 million. Universal had the first and second spots, with the Afghanistan war film Lone Survivor earning $12.6 million in its fifth week. With a cumulative total of $93.6 million, the relatively inexpensive film, starring Mark Wahlberg as a stranded Navy SEAL, will soon cross the $100 million mark.