Tom Cruise has appeared in several science fiction films over his career, and one of his more overlooked efforts,Oblivion,is now a streaming hit on Prime Video. Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) directedOblivion,and it follows a maintenance technician named Jack (Cruise) who is about to complete his mission on a desolate Earth, 60 years after an alien war. However, when he finds a woman named Julia (Olga Kurylenko) who survived a spaceship crash, and learns she has been in stasis since the war began, he sets out to discover the truth about the war.
WhileTom Cruise is one of the main drawsofOblivion,there are plenty of great cast members joining him, including Kurylenko,Morgan Freeman as Malcolm,a leader of the resistance on Earth, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo, and Zoë Bell.It is a smart sci-fi dramainvolving plenty of twists and turns that work out well for the sci-fi story it is trying to tell.Oblivionwas a decent hit when released in theaters,but remains mostly forgotten until now, with it finding a second life on streaming.
What This Means For Oblivion
The Tom Cruise Sci-Fi Drama Is Becoming A Hit
WhenOblivionwas released in 2013, it was a decent box office hit, although it also came with a very high price tag. The film finished by making $287.9 million on a $120 million budget (viaThe Numbers). While the total box office looks nice, only $89.1 million came in North America, and after marketing, it was nowhere near a big success for the studio. Even more disappointing was its Rotten Tomatoes score, which sits at a lower 53%, with the audience slightly higher at 61%. However,this is where streaming services help older movies, giving them a second chance.
The idea behindOblivionis interesting, with a man trying to find out what really caused Earth’s destruction, while also discovering that he might have had something to do with it. In the end,Oblivionis more of a tragic love story than a big-budget alien invasion movie, which is what likely kept audiences from flooding the theaters to watch it when it was released. However, on streaming services like Prime Video, viewers can watch it in their own homes, and for a more thoughtful movie likeOblivion,this should help offer it a second life.
Our Take On Oblivion Trending On Prime Video
This Is A Nice Revival For The Sci-Fi Drama
Streaming services have somewhat hurt theatrical releases, especially with earlier and earlier entries onto television. However, for films likeOblivion,which fans mostly dismissed during its theatrical release, this offers a new life preserver, allowing sometimes overlooked movies to find the audiences they deserve.SeeingOblivionon Prime Video is great because now it can finally become the hit it always deserved to be.
This is also good news for other older sci-fi movies that might not have seen great success at the box office, but can now find their audience on streaming services like Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, and more. There areseveral sci-fi movies that no one talks aboutthat could discover a new life on streaming, such asAnnihilation,Ad Astra,andMoon.IfOblivionis any example, there is no better time to do so than now.
