Tom Cruise Stages Return To Box-Office #1 With 'Oblivion'

Tom Cruise Stages Return To
Box-Office #1 With 'Oblivion'
Ryan J. Downey
April 19 2013
"Identity Thief" and "The
Croods" have both made
over $100 million, but "Oz:
The Great and Powerful"
seems to be the only true
blockbuster of 2013 thus far.
But this weekend, Tom Cruise
and "Tron: Legacy" director
Joseph Kosinski are looking
to change that with
"Oblivion," a sure thing for
the #1 spot with no other
widespread releases hitting
theaters.
Universal is estimating a $30
million opening for the sci-fi
epic, which stars Cruise as
one of the last people on a
post-apocalyptic Earth. The
Los Angeles Times cited pre-
release audience surveys as
the basis for their $37
million projection. But
Exhibitor Relations box-office
analyst Jeff Bock told MTV
News he expects "Oblivion"
to rake in more than $40
million, noting that it has
already made half of its $120
million budget overseas.
"While Tom Cruise isn't the
stratospheric star he once
was, 'Oblivion' simply looks
too grand and too gorgeous
for genre fans to pass up,
plus it likely sports enough
amped-up action and
adventure to satiate the
multiplex masses," Bock told
MTV News. "Without much
competition next weekend,
it's conceivable 'Oblivion'
could take the #1 spot two
weekends in a row. And as
long as this makes over $100
million domestically, I'm sure
Universal will be relieved."
Cruise recently gushed to
MTV News about how making
the movie brought out his
inner kid. "I'm a fan of
movies, and when you look
at 'Oblivion,' it has the
bubble ship, the bubble bike,
we're shooting in Iceland and
the mountains of California,
and the story is so cool," he
told Josh Horowitz at the
film's premiere. "It's the kind
of movie you're going to
want to see again... So it is
that teenage kid, going, that
bubble ship — who doesn't
want that bubble ship?"
Rob Zombie's latest
directorial outing, "The Lords
of Salem," will debut in just
over 300 theaters this
weekend. That's a record low
for one of the hard rocker's
horror flicks. "Zombie's
particular brand of horror
has a devoted following, no
doubt, but unfortunately the
distributor of 'The Lords of
Salem,' Anchor Bay, doesn't
quite have the marketing
muscle of Weinstein or
Lionsgate, which handled his
previous chill pills," said
Bock, expecting not much
more than $600,000.
Ryan Gosling and Bradley
Cooper's "A Place Among the
Pines" will expand from 514
theaters to more than 1,400
locations. Critics have raved
about the crime flick from
"Blue Valentine" director
Derek Cianfrance. "Pines"
has collected $6.4 million
thus far. Sports-themed
"Home Run" and "Ain't in it
for My Health: A Film about
Levon Helm" (a documentary
about the making of the Rock
N' Roll Hall of Famer's
comeback album) will also
open in limited release. Last
weekend's #1 film, the Jackie
Robinson biopic "42," should
continue to do strong
business.
Whatever the success of
"Oblivion," it will have to
contend with the gargantuan
"Iron Man 3" before too
long, which is sure to knock
all 2013 movies thus far out
of the box, particularly in the
wake of "Marvel's The
Avengers."