This weekend's No. 1 debut of Universal’s sci-fi epic “Oblivion” was good news for Tom Cruise, whose box-office star has been flickering. The film’s $38 million three-day haul topped the combined debuts of his two films from last year – “Rock of Ages” ($14.4 million) and “Jack Reacher” ($15.2 million). And it’s his best since 2006’s “Mission: Impossible III,” which took in $47 million in its first three days.
“Scary Movie 5” has connected with the teen crowd but it's not getting any traction beyond that. With $23 million after two weeks, the horror spoof has already exceeded its production budget for the Weinstein Co.
“Place Beyond the Pines” looks like the wildcard going forward. After Focus Features expanded the Ryan Gosling-Bradley Cooper drama about a motorcycle-riding bank robber from 514 to 1,542 theaters this past weekend, it took in $4.7 million. If it can maintain that level of success for the next couple weeks, it could become a leading counter-play when the summer’s popcorn movies start landing.
