Tom Cruise’s Oblivion wipes out US box office

Tom Cruise’s post-apocalyptic thriller Oblivion wiped out the box office competition, racking up €29.2 million in weekend ticket sales during its US and Canadian debut.

The debut of Oblivion knocked baseball movie 42 into second place. The drama about Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the Major Leagues, earned €13.7 million from Friday through Sunday after leading the charts a week ago.

In third place, animated Stone Age comedy The Croods earned €7.2 million during its fifth weekend in theatres, according to studio estimates.

Global sales for the DreamWorks Animation production were estimated at €329 million through Sunday, according to distributor Twentieth Century Fox International.

Oblivion, a story set in 2077 about the last humans on earth, opened a week earlier to strong results in overseas markets.

Cruise plays a man who repairs the drones that monitor the nearly empty earth while its last human inhabitants search for a new home. Morgan Freeman co-stars.

Combined with international receipts, the movie’s global sales stood at €115.1 million on Sunday. The movie cost about €91.9 million to produce.

Rounding out the top five, horror spoof Scary Movie 5 grossed €4.8 million, and action sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation took in €4.4 million.