Tom Cruise Has Worst Opening Weekend Ever with “Rock of Ages”

I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say this has been Tom Cruise’s worst opening weekend for a movie in like, forever. Even the terrible “Valkyrie” and the mundane “Knight & Day” had better starts than “Rock of Ages” on Friday night. It took in $5.3 million, giving it a shot at a $16 million weekend. Each of those of other movies did much better, and of course the “Mission Impossible” movies dwarfed that number. Cruise got tagged as the “star” of “Rock of Ages” playing Stacee Jaxx, a moronic big haired rock singer of the Eighties. Cruise can’t sing, the movie is derivative, and the reviews have not been great. Altogether, “Rock of Ages” is a bust. From the opening scene of people singing along to “Sister Christian”–ripping off “Almost Famous”–you know we’re in trouble. For a rock singer with groupies, Cruise has not heat either. “Rock of Ages” doesn’t bode well for Cruise creating new characters. And his paycheck is barely covered by these proceeds. Meantime, Adam Sandler’s crappy “That’s My Boy” did even worse–a $4.6 million Friday, a weekend of $14 million if lucky. Will this stop him? I doubt it, and of course, “Grown Ups 2” is filming now.