Weekend Report: Cruise Misses with 'Edge'
Edge of Tomorrow took third place with an estimated $29.1 million. That's on par with recent sci-fi movies like
Elysium ($29.8 million) and
John Carter ($30.2 million), w
hich is surely lower than Warner Bros. was hoping for this mega-budget movie. It's also noticeably lower than last year's
Oblivion (also starring
Tom Cruise) and
Pacific Rim, both of which opened north of $37 million.
While critics have been praising the movie's originality, marketing wasn't really able to convey that point to average moviegoers. On a large scale, this looked like just another effects-heavy alien invasion movie, the likes of which arrive in theaters a few times a year. Audiences also had a bit of deja vu thanks to Cruise's presence here, as the movie's visuals seemed too close to last year's Oblivion. Finally, last year's Elysium beat Edge of Tomorrow to the punch with mechanical exoskeletons. On the surface, at least, Edge felt about as redundant as it gets.
According to Warner Bros., Edge's audience was 61 percent male and 73 percent over the age of 25. Showings in 3D accounted for 47 percent of ticket sales, while IMAX delivered $4.2 million. Critics dug the movie (89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but moviegoers were less enthralled: they awarded it a so-so "B+" CinemaScore.
The movie may still hold up well, but it will be a big surprise if it comes anywhere close to $100 million.