Weekend box office results: Baseball, dinos and aliens

Leave it to me to miss out on the popular stuff, again. I don't mind though, because in this case I'm thrilled that I did. With big, big wins for the new Jackie Robinson baseball drama 42 and Tom Cruise's latest offering, Oblivion, in theaters far and wide, I opted to take in a classic at the theater. And oh, how happy I am today!

That's right: I finally saw Jurassic Park in 3D. More on that later, but trust me, if you love Steven Spielberg, you'll want to revisit this brilliant film in all its glory while you can.

First, let's discuss exactly what went down this past weekend at the box office, shall we? After a lot of hype and some truly excellent previews, Warner Bros hit it out of the park with 42. This film, which chronicles the life and career of the great Jackie Robinson, the first African-American Major League Baseball player, drew huge crowds to the theaters. All total, the most recent numbers indicate that 42 took in just over $27 million in its opening weekend.

Reviews for 42 were solid, and I fully intend to see this film within the next few days. Brian Helgeland directed 42 and wrote the screenplay. His writing skills are quite good, and he's written the screenplays for several of my favorite films (including the adaptation of Dennis Lehane's Mystic River in 2003 and the screenplay for the noir-awesome L.A. Confidential in 1997). The man has an impressive resume, so I have no doubt he did justice to Jackie Robinson's remarkable story.

Here's hoping that a whole new generation will realize, through the 42 movie, the importance of what Jackie Robinson was able to accomplish. Anyone with an interest in baseball movies in general would likely be well served seeing 42 in theaters. This film, by the way, scored an A+ CinemaScore grade. What does that mean? It means that movie goers loved the movie, and will probably tell everyone they know to go see it. You can't buy that kind of publicity.

Here's a quick rundown of the other movies in the weekend box office top five: Scary Movie 5 debuted in second place, taking in a fairly dismal $15.2 million, and proving, at least to me, that some of us still have enough sense not to drop cash on craptastical films. The animated movie The Croods continues going strong, taking in just over $13 million and snagging third place. The top five rounds out with G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Evil Dead.

Now, here's where it gets interesting: It seems that Tom Cruise is still a huge box office draw, particularly overseas. With Cruise's latest, the science fiction thriller Oblivion, set to debut in U.S. theaters this week, the film seems poised for a nice run domestically. Why? Because wow, this movie rocked the theaters overseas, that's why! Overseas markets are a huge money-maker for the movie studios...much more so than U.S. theaters. That being said, Oblivion is already a huge hit.

After suffering a huge box office bomb with Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise seems to be roaring back, if the foreign box office numbers are any indication. All total, the latest figures show that Oblivion took in a whopping $61.1 million dollars internationally. I have to say, initially I had zero interest in seeing this movie, but after reading some of the reviews, I might have to catch it. The concept for the movie is actually really interesting. It looks gorgeous, too. Here's the trailer for Oblivion:

Oblivion Official Trailer #1 Tom Cruise Sci-Fi Movie HD

So there you go. Will you see Oblivion when it opens in the U.S.? Have you already seen it overseas? If so, let's hear what you thought about it in the comments, please.

Now, I mentioned earlier that I did see something wonderful at the theater over the weekend: Jurassic Park 3D. I am not one to urge others to spend enormous amounts of money to catch movies in 3D or in IMAX, but in this case, I'm telling you: Do it. Go. Relive this cinematic achievement in all its awesome glory.

I'd forgotten how great Jurassic Park is, to be honest. The special effects were already so groundbreaking, and revisiting the film this way, in 3D and on that sweeping, magical IMAX screen? Well, it made my weekend. The dinosaurs are way scarier, by the way. I don't remember hiding my eyes the first time we saw this movie.

My love of Steven Spielberg movies knows no bounds, and after spending the cash to see the Jurassic Park reboot, I'm sitting here thinking of all the other possibilities. Jaws in 3D on IMAX? (And yes, I mean the original Jaws, not the terrible, pathetic, forgettable Jaws 3-D from 1983.

With the success of Jurassic Park 3D right now, what other Spielberg films, if any, would you like to see given the full treatment?

Photos courtesy of EW.com and News.com.au