BOX OFFICE REPORT (APRIL 19-21): 'Oblivion' Rockets Tom Cruise Back to Top of the Box Office

Congrats, Tom Cruise. Thanks to Oblivion, you now have your best opening weekend at the box office ... for a non-Mission: Impossible movie ... and for a movie that's not War of the Worlds. OK, I guess there are a couple exceptions for Cruise to celebrate this moment, but after a string of box office performances that didn't live up to the actor's reputation, Oblivion might signal that Cruise is back.

We talked about The Place Beyond the Pines last week, as the film moved up the charts, and it seems like we have to bring the movie up again this week. The Ryan Gosling film is now just one spot out of the top five, coming in at No. 6 with $4.74 million. The impressive part? The Place Beyond the Pines is still at roughly 1,500 theaters, pretty much half what the rest of the weekend's big releases are playing at.

1. Oblivion (N)
$38.15 million ($38.15 million)
As we mentioned before, Oblivion is Cruise's biggest non-Mission: Impossible, non-War of the Worlds opener. War of the Worlds premiered to $64.88 million in 2005, and the first three Mission: Impossible movies opened to (in order) $45.44 million, $57.85 million and $47.74 million. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol had a small opening weekend number thanks to a limited IMAX run, so it's, um, impossible to compare that one to the other installments. Interestingly enough, Oblivion wasn't director Joseph Kosinski's best opening weekend, with Tron: Legacy pulling in $44.03 million in 2010. Jeff Bridges trumps Cruise?

2. 42 (2)

$18.03 million ($54.06 million)

42 fell a respectable 34.4 percent in its second weekend, something I attribute to strong word of mouth for the movie. With the exception of minor quibbles, I've only heard people say positive things about the Jackie Robinson biopic. This one is going to have longevity at the box office.

3. The Croods (3)

$9.50 million ($154.90 million)
Guys, seriously stop giving The Croods your money. You're only encouraging it.

4. Scary Movie V (2)

$6.30 million ($22.94 million)
Welp, this franchise is dead, right?

5. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (4)

$5.78 million ($111.21 million)

Don't worry, box office, we're only a month away from Fast and Furious 6, another Dwayne Johnson movie, dominating a weekend or two.

Next week's predictions:

1. Oblivion

2. Pain and Gain

3. 42

4. The Croods

5. G.I. Joe: Retaliation

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo