With more than $10,000 per site and $38 million overall, sci-fi adventure "Oblivion" got off to a decent start for distributor Universal, easily topping the box office despite both "42" and "The Croods" continuing to post strong overall numbers. Indie "The Place Beyond the Pines" also surged up the charts as it expanded to more than 1,500 theaters, though an unimpressive per venue average of just $3,078 suggests that it hasn't completely caught on with its target demographic. The weekend was also likely the last that both "Jurassic Park 3D" and "Oz The Great and Powerful" will land in the top 10 after strong theatrical runs thus far.
Hitting nearly 3,800 total theaters around the country this weekend, "Oblivion" had the advantage of having action crowds mainly to itself, helping it put together a decent opening weekend for distributor Universal. "Oblivion" ended up with the fourth biggest opening of 2013 thus far, trailing only "The Croods," "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and "Oz The Great and Powerful." For star Tom Cruise, "Oblivion" also turned out to be his biggest opening since "Mission: Impossible III" hit theaters all the way back in 2006.
But even though a $38 million domestic opening isn't bad, "Oblivion" also needs to sell quite a few tickets outside of the U.S. to justify its $120 million production price tag. "Oblivion" won't likely come close to reaching the $100 million domestic mark, though it's already raked in more than $100 million in foreign revenue, pushing its worldwide total to $150 million in less than a full week in theaters. With Cruise and co-star Morgan Freeman's international popularity, look for "Oblivion" to end up with a very nice worldwide total by the time it's out of theaters, even if it struggles to compete domestically with the horde of other action releases getting launched in the next few weeks.
While "Oblivion" got off to a decent start this weekend, both "42" and "The Croods" continued their success with their target audiences. "42" dipped only 34.4% from its very impressive $27 million opening a week ago, giving it a $54 million 10-day domestic total for Warner Brothers. With a slender production budget of only $40 million, "42" already looks like a substantial success and seems to have struck a chord with its target audience, which should help it remain a box office factor well into May.
Also maintaining its sway with its intended audience over the weekend was animated "The Croods," which has latched onto family crowds and dipped only 27.6% from its total last weekend. After its fifth weekend in theaters, "The Croods" is now up to $154 million domestically and $427 million worldwide, making it one of the most lucrative movies of the year so far. With no direct genre competition for another month, "The Croods" should continue its success with family audiences and could even make a run at $200 million in domestic revenue by the time it's out of theaters.
Aiming at a much different crowd over the weekend was "The Place Beyond the Pines," an R-rated indie starring Ryan Gosling. Thanks to mostly positive critical buzz and Gosling's popularity on the indie circuit, "The Place Beyond the Pines" expanded to more than 1,500 theaters this weekend and had an opportunity to reach mainstream audiences in the process. But even though the expansion helped it move up the charts, it still managed only $4.75 million according to studio estimates, which is a fairly paltry total for a wide release. With an unimpressive per venue average of just $3,078, "The Place Beyond the Pines" could have a hard time holding onto screenings in the coming weeks and it will likely slide out of the top 10 shortly.
Next weekend, Michael Bay's latest action film, "Pain & Gain," will hit theaters across the country, with Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ed Harris and Rebel Wilson co-starring. Also getting launched will be "The Big Wedding," which takes aim at adult audiences with Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton and Robin Williams all starring in the R-rated romantic comedy.
Early Studio Box Office Estimates for 4/19/13 - 4/21/13 (in millions), [RTT Prediction]:
1) Oblivion (Universal): $38.15 [$42]
2) 42 (Warner Brothers): $18.03 [$14.8]
3) The Croods (Fox): $9.50 [$7.4]
4) Scary Movie 5 (Weinstein/Dimension): $6.30 [$6.8]
5) G.I. Joe: Retaliation (Paramount): $5.78 [$5.2]
6) The Place Beyond the Pines (Focus): $4.75 [$2.5]
7) Olympus Has Fallen (FilmDistrict): $4.50 [$3.8]
8) Evil Dead (TriStar): $4.10 [$4.7]
9) Jurassic Park 3D (Universal): $4.01[$4.4]
10) Oz The Great and Powerful (Disney): $3.05 [$2.9]
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.