4a Reasons for Gravity’s success

Look at the information from Box Office Mojo on Gravity by clicking on the link. Gravity’s production costs were around $100 million and this film made over three and a half times that cost so the film went well into profit. Use the table to rank the possible reasons for the film’s success.



  • Stars – Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

  • The marketing campaign

  • The use of 3D technology

  • Director – Alfonso Cuaron

  • The cinematic spectacle of the film

  • The film’s narrative.



You probably ranked the role of stars very highly when assessing the reasons for Gravity’s box office success. Sandra Bullock’s starring role in the film seems to have played a key role in the commercial success of the film. She’s made a big comeback in recent years with a number of box-office hits.

4b Top ten stars

There are a number of assessments of how highly stars are rated. The online magazine Vulture came up with their list of top ten stars of 2013. Vulture based this on several criteria: US box office, overseas box office, studio value, likeability, Oscars, critics’ views, Twitter mentions and tabloid value.

Who would you rank as the top ten movie stars of 2013?

Discuss with a partner before clicking on the link to view Vulture’s selection and then consider the prompt questions.



Question 1: In what ways were your list and Vulture’s list different? Give reasons for this.

Question 2: Which stars were, in your opinion, missing from Vulture’s list?

Question 3: Which films released in 2013 were responsible for these stars’ success?

Question 4: Was there anything surprising in the list about the gender and age of the stars?

4c Sandra Bullock

Read the information on Sandra Bullock on the Vulture website by clicking on the link and then, given this information, suggest reasons why Sandra Bullock is so successful.
  • Appeals to both men and women.
  • In terms of the female audience she is non-threatening in terms of her looks (unlike say Jolie).
  • She is now in her late 40s. It is unusual for a Hollywood female star to still be getting lead roles over 40.
  • She has very distinctive looks that make her stand out.
  • She can increasingly play different sorts of roles – comedy (The Heat) to serious (The Blind Side) and has shown that she can open a big budget SFX film (Gravity).)
  • In common with other stars on the list (Depp, Washington, Hanks, Pitt, DiCaprio, Downey Jnr) she has longevity and is very familiar with film audiences.
  • She has shown high levels of adaptability from her earlier roles in light romantic comedies.

4c Sandra Bullock Movies

Watch the Sandra Bullock trailers by clicking on the links and then discuss the prompt questions before looking at the suggested responses.

Question 1

To what extent does the trailer use Sandra Bullock to sell the film?

Question 2

Do you think that her role in All About Steve (2009) is what audiences in the past have typically thought a Sandra Bullock role should be? Are there any issues with this here?

Question 3

Based on the trailer for The Blind Side (2009), why do you think that Bullock won an Oscar for this role? How does it differ from her other film that year – All About Steve?

Question 4

In the trailer for The Heat (2013), what sort of role is Bullock taking on here? Is this different from our usual expectations of her?

  • Bullock has matured since All About Steve in which she played a part that she was too old for.
  • The Blind Side saw her playing a real-life person, but also cast her in a maternal role which was further exploited by Gravity.
  • The strong female character who does the right thing in the trailer for The Blind Side has a strong emotional pull which is often key for an Oscar win.
  • The trailer for The Heat sees her playing the straight role to McCarthy’s over-the-top police officer. In this role, she is initially fully in control but slowly begins to let go in the light of her new partner’s unpredictability. This is also in contrast to her ‘kooky’ persona in All About Steve.
  • Gravity actually plays off the spectacle of the film rather than concentrating on Bullock’s strong performance. However, the film does rely on her as much as the technology to tell its story. Could the trailer have been different?