Tom Cruise's sci-fi pic "Oblivion" opened to $38.2 million at the domestic box office to come in No. 1 after a better-than-expected performance and despite a B- CinemaScore. Overseas, the Universal pic continued to please, grossing $33.7 million in its second weekend for an international cume of $112 million and worldwide total of $150.2 million.

The movie marks the actor's best North American opening outside of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, not accounting for inflation.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski ("Tron: Legacy"), "Oblivion" co-stars Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo. Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark produced. The pic cost Universal and Elliot Inc. at least $120 million to produce.

Adult male moviegoers fueled "Oblivion," making up 57 percent of the audience.

Cruise's track record domestically has been mixed. "Jack Reacher" debuted to $15.2 million in December on its way to earning a so-so $80 million in North America. Conversely, "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," opening to $29.6 million in December 2011, turned into a box-office monster, grossing nearly $700 million worldwide.

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Sci-fi is a familiar genre for Cruise, who starred in "War of the Worlds" and "Minority Report," both directed by Steven Spielberg.

Set in 2077, 60 years after Earth has been destroyed by aliens, "Oblivion" follows one of the last humans stationed on the planet as he uncovers a troubling secret.

Universal decided to get a jump on the beginning of the crowded summer box office by opening "Oblivion" now. The studio has gone aggressively after males by advertising during major sporting events including the NCAA's March Madness.

Speaking of sports, Legendary and Warner Bros.' Jackie Robinson biopic "42" continued to score strong numbers in its second weekend, declining a slim 34 percent to come in No. 2 with $18 million. The baseball drama's 10-day domestic total is $54.1 million.

Paramount's "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" jumped the $300 million mark in its fourth weekend, thanks to stellar $33 million opening in China. The sequel has grossed $111.2 million domestically and $211.7 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $322.9 million. In China, the pic outpaced the first film by a four-to-one margin.

Expanding nationwide over the weekend, Derek Cianfrance's indie drama "The Place Beyond the Pines," starring Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, placed No. 6 in North America. The film, from Focus Features and Sidney Kimmel, took in $4.7 million for a total $11.4 million.

PHOTOS: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman at "Oblivion" premiere

Below are the top 10 estimates for the April 12-14 weekend at the domestic box office.

Title, weeks in release/theater count, studio, three-day weekend total, cume.

1. "Oblivion," 1/3,783, Universal, $38.2 million
2. "42," 2/3,250, Warners/Legendary, $18 million, $54.1 million
3. "The Croods," 5/3,435, Fox/DreamWorks Animation, $9.5, $154.9 million
4. "Scary Movie 5," 2/3,402, The Weinstein Co., $6.3 million, $22.9 million
5. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," 4/3,175, Paramount, $5.8 million, $111.2 million
6. "The Place Beyond the Pines," 4/1,542, Focus/Sidney Kimmel, $4.7 million, $11.4 million
7. "Evil Dead," 3/2,823, Sony/TriStar/FilmDistrict, $4.1 million, $48.5 million
8. "Olympus Has Fallen," 5/2,638, FilmDistrict, $4.5 million, $88.1 million
9. "Jurassic Park," 3/2,330, Universal, $4 million, $38.5 million
10. "Oz The Great and Powerful," 7/2,504, Disney, $3 million, $223.8 million

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Some serious stuff this week, from a sci-fi movie looking at a devastated Earth to Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning slavery movie to a new look at a political scandal.

TUESDAY: 'Django Unchained' on home video
Quentin Tarantino has won two best screenplay Oscars, one for the legendary "Pulp Fiction" and one for "Django Unchained." The controversial "Django" comes to home video this week, and whether you want to see what all the fuss is about or need to see it again, now's the time. Christoph Waltz won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role as Dr. King Schultz, a German-born bounty hunter who teams up with the slave Django (Jamie Foxx). The two set out to bring in numerous wanted men while searching for Django's sold-away wife (Kerry Washington). The film's filled with Tarantino's legendary action, extreme violence and snappy dialogue -- it's not for everyone, but there's no denying its impact. (On home video April 16.)

FRIDAY: 'Oblivion'
The first of three devastated Earth films opens this week. In "Oblivon," Tom Cruise stars as a drone mechanic who believes he's helping to scrape the final resources from an abandoned planet. But when he finds a woman in a crashed spaceship and is kidnapped by a team led by Morgan Freeman, he learns that he's been working under false premises all along, and may have no real idea what's going on in his world. Cruise has re-established himself as a believable action hero thanks to "Mission: Impossible" and "Jack Reacher," and this plot is intriguing. (Opens April 19.)

SUNDAY: 'All the President's Men Revisited'
The Watergate scandal that led to President Richard M. Nixon resigning was 40 years ago, and the landmark movie, "All the President's Men," came out in 1976. Now Robert Redford, who played Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in the film, has taken another look at that dramatic moment in American history with "All the President's Men Revisited." Redford's co-star, Dustin Hoffman, as well as the real Woodward and partner Carl Bernstein, are in the new film, along with Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow and others. (April 21, 8 p.m., Discovery Channel)

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Three awkwardly titled movies about a devastated Earth, three big-name stars. How can a movie fan keep them straight? Here's a quick guide to the apocalyptic avalanche coming soon to a theater near you.

TriStar, Universal, Columbia

Three similar sci-fi movies are headed to theaters. Matt Damon, top, stars in "Elysium," Tom Cruise, lower left, in "Oblivion," and Will Smith, lower right, in "After Earth."

'Elysium'
Star: Matt Damon

Opens: Aug. 9

Plot:  The wealthy have left Earth and live on a space habitat called Elysium. Earth itself is now crime-ridden and impoverished, and people there are in desperate need of medical care. Matt Damon, who's beefed up to major hunk levels for the film, is a tough Earth bruiser who has a mission to get to Elysium and save the people of Earth. To do so, he must confront Jodie Foster, Elysium's mayor. The film is directed by Neill Blomkamp and also stars Sharlto Copley from "District 9," which also dealt with issues of wealth, poverty and the social separation they bring.

Extras: Damon gets robotic armor attached to his body to help him invade Elysium. It looks creepy and painful -- a bone saw is somehow involved.

'Oblivion'
Star: Tom Cruise

Opens: April 19

Plot: Earth was attacked by aliens 60 years ago and has been pretty much abandoned. Tom Cruise is Jack Harper, a drone mechanic stationed in a tower floating near Earth and part of the mission that's scavenging final resources from the planet before abandoning it forever. But then a spaceship crashes, and Jack rescues a woman in it and is taken prisoner by a group led by Morgan Freeman. Turns out everything he thought he knew about Earth and the invasion that ravaged it just might be wrong.

Extras: Don't miss the creepy post-apocalypse shots of a half-destroyed Pentagon, leaning Washington Monument, and buried Statue of Liberty. 

'After Earth'
Stars: Will and Jaden Smith

Opens: June 7

Plot: Guess what? Earth's trashed again! Society has rebuilt itself on another planet, but when Will and Jaden Smith leave there, they crash-land on Earth. Will's injured, so it's son Jaden (now 14, you remember him from "Karate Kid") who must make a perilous trek through the wasteland to try and save his dad.

Extras: The animals on the planet have evolved into killing machines. It's like if Disney's Jungle Cruise was suddenly doused with The Incredible Hulk's gamma rays or something.

Who's the best hero (or hero team?) Cast your vote below.

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Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice, wrote Robert Frost. But this week, two new movie teasers present their own takes on Earth's eventual demise. One says the world will end with Will Smith's son running though abandoned jungles, chased by monkeys, one says it will end with Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman hiding out under a devastated Earth's surface.

Columbia Pictures, Universal

Will Smith and his 14-year-old son Jaden star in "After Earth," due out June 7. Famed twistmaster M. Night Shyamalan directs. In the film, the Smiths crash-land on a hostile Earth 1000 years after humans have bailed on it.

"Son, this is not training. This is a Class 1 quarantined planet," Will Smith's character, an injured general, warns his son. "Everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans."

The Earth of "After Earth" looks a lot like ours now, only jungly and wild, and the Smiths have brought some kind of flying suits that allow them to dive off cliffs and soar like hanggliders.

Apparently, the film follows Jaden Smith's character as he sets out to find the rescue beacon that could save his dying father. Sure, "Karate Kid" was one thing, but one wonders if fans of Will Smith will be satisfied if his teen son ends up dominating the movie.

Still, as one YouTube viewer wrote, "If Will Smith is in it, then I'm watching it!

Tom Cruise's "Oblivion," opening April 12, features a similar devastated Earth, but a different approach, based on director Joseph Kosinski's graphic novel.

Cruise plays Jack Harper (not Jack Reacher, that one opens Dec. 21). Harper repairs the drone satellites that patrol an almost-empty Earth, hunting down the surviving aliens who attacked the planet decades before.

"The last Super Bowl was played right here," he says, standing in a crumbled stadium that looks more like a volcanic crater than an arena. "Sixty years ago, Earth was attached. We won the war, but they destroyed half the planet. Everyone's been evacuated. Nothing human remains."

Of course, we know that can't be true. Cruise meets up with Morgan Freeman, discovers there are surviving humans on the planet, and locks and loads.

Both Smith and Cruise have dealt with the end of Earth before -- Cruise in "War of the Worlds" and Smith in "I Am Legend." Now, in 2013, moviegoers can compare the two stars' approaches.

Tom Cruise or Will Smith -- which post-apocalyptic hero would you want on your side? Tell us on Facebook.

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