As we bid goodbye to a rather strong October, a familiar autumn staple returns to the top of the box office. Three previous Jack-Ass films all opened in fall to strong numbers and now the latest entry, spin-off Bad Grandpa, has continued the trend. In doing so, three-time champ Gravity has been dethroned.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

Spin-offs are often a bit of a gamble, especially one that changes up the established formula as much as Bad Grandpa. However, with a still-popular brand name and hilarious trailers, the latest in the Jackass franchise opened to a very strong $32 million. That beats both the original Jackass movie, as well as Jackass: Number Two, but it’s not surprisingly down quite a bit from the huge $50 million debut of Jackass 3-D, which was, of course, buoyed by 3-D. Nonetheless, this is a very solid opening, which I would credit mostly to funny advertising. Make people laugh, and they’ll pay good money.

In second, Gravity grossed $20.3 million, down 32%. It’s had good, though not otherworldly holds and I’m very pleased to see its chances of crossing $300 million look very slim, as it now has just under $200 million as of this weekend. The current trajectory seems to be about $250 million. In case you haven’t heard or read, I really did not like this movie. I will never understand all the hullabaloo.

Captain Phillips had a strong hold, slipping just 28% to $11.8 million. $70.1 million in total for the well-reviewed picture, and $100 million still seems possible, though difficult. In fourth, The Counselor opened to a disappointing $8 million. When an adult-driven thriller like this gets poor reviews as it did, the box office potential really gets kneecapped.

Staying in fifth for the second straight week, Cloudy 2 dropped 37% and grossed $6.1 million. That’s not a fantastic hold; it’s just that two films above it last week fell much harder, allowing it to stay in the top five. $6.1 million this weekend pushed its total to a solid $100.6 million. Even with Halloween fast approaching, Carrie dropped a big 63% to $5.9 million. A $26 million total isn’t bad against a $30 million budget, but I’m sure the studio was hoping for more.

Escape Plan also had a precipitous second weekend fall, though not quite as bad as Carrie. The action flick dropped 56% to $4.3 million, lifting its total to $17 million. In eighth, 12 Years a Slave expanded and remarkably made the top ten in just 123 theatres. Grossing $2.2 million, its per theatre average was a sterling $17,480, which was by far the highest in the top ten. Since opening last weekend, the critical darling (95% at Rotten Tomatoes) has amassed $3.4 million.

Enough Said grossed $1.6 million after falling just 11%. A $13 million total is pretty strong. Finally, Prisoners spends what is likely its last weekend in the top ten. The best film of autumn 2013 (WAY better than Gravity) fell 49% and grossed $1.1 million to put its total at $59.1 million. With that, we close the books on a strong October, one with one of the most inexplicably successful films to which I’ve ever borne witness leading the way. November figures to be a gargantuan month and I’ll be sure to get up a preview before next Friday. Until we meet again.