It’s rare that two movies are released in the same week in the US and box office watchers seem to have no idea how well either of them will do, or which would end up at the top of the box office (if either). However that was true of 42 and Scary Movie 5, with wildly differing estimates of how well they’d do in their run up to release, with some even suggesting both would end behind The Croods in their first weekend.
In the end it was 42 that won out, taking $27 million to top the box office in its first three day. It’s a good start for the Jackie Robinson biopic, helped by decent reviews as well as the fact it appeals to lovers of baseball and those who like historical biopics.
Scary Movie 5 placed second with $15.2 million, which is massively down on Scary Movie 4’s $40 million opening, but not as bad as some had predicted (especially considering the seven year gap since the last one). With a budget of $20 million, it should end up in profit.
Further down the list The Place Beyond The Pines made its first appearance in the top 10 after expanding the amount of screens it’s been playing on. It took $4 million after jumping from 30 to 484 screens.
However it was outside the US that the real success was seen, as the Tom Cruise sci-fi Oblivion took $61 million after opening in 52 territories. That’s way ahead of Cruise’s last movie, Jack Reacher, as suggests a big US bow when it opens there this Friday.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of April 12th-14th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | 42 | $27.7 | $27.2 |
| 2 | Scary Movie 5 | $15.1 | $15.1 |
| 3 | The Croods | $13.2 | $142.5 |
| 4 | GI Joe: Retaliation | $10.8 | $102.4 |
| 5 | Evil Dead (2013) | $9.5 | $41.5 |
| 6 | Jurassic Park 3D | $8.8 | $31.9 |
| 7 | Olympus Has Fallen | $7.2 | $81.8 |
| 8 | Oz The Great And Powerful | $4.9 | $219.4 |
| 9 | Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor | $4.5 | $45.4 |
| 10 | The Place Beyond The Pines | $4.0 | $5.4 |