Tom Cruise

Author Lee Child created a killer character with Jack Reacher. A brutal ex-military officer with a thirst for justice, he's a force - a massive force. Six-foot-five, 220-250 lbs., with a 50-inch chest is specified on Child's website . For months, fans of the books - 17 so far - have been anticipating the film "Jack Reacher," which opens this weekend, with comments such as: "hope it flops. " They are not looking forward to seeing Tom Cruise, not known for his bulk, portray the hero of Child's novels.

After suffering a couple of box-office disappointments, Tom Cruise posted his first No. 1 film opening in years at the multiplex this weekend. The 50-year-old's science fiction flick "Oblivion" was the only new movie to hit theaters this weekend and easily claimed the top spot, debuting with a respectable $38.2 million, according to an estimate from distributor Universal Pictures. That figure includes screenings from Thursday evening, when the movie began playing in many locations at 7 p.m. The film's opening is a win for Cruise, especially considering the movie did not benefit from 3-D ticket surcharges and was not part of a franchise.

Katie Holmes was the one who pulled the trigger on her nearly 6-year-old marriage, setting Tom Cruise up for his third divorce in a little more than two decades. "Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children," Amanda Lundberg, Cruise's rep, said Friday. "Please allow them their privacy to work this out. " Holmes reportedly filed papers anonymously in New York on Thursday, according to TMZ, which said the actress is seeking sole legal and "primary residential" custody of Suri, her 6-year-old daughter with the "Rock of Ages" star.

After the coffee. Before spending another day glued to TV news. The Skinny: Since ESPN has the Redskins for its opening Monday night game, the scheduling gurus at the NFL must be pretty confident that quarterback Robert Griffin III will be fully recovered from his knee injury. Hope they are right. Friday's headlines include the box-office preview, YouTube's latest legal win over Viacom and reviews of "Oblivion" and "Hemlock Grove. " Daily Dose: The Emmy Awards will be a little bit longer this year.

Even the most oblivious of moviegoers will be well aware of "Oblivion" this weekend, as the Tom Cruise flick is set to claim No. 1 at the box office. The "Mission: Impossible" actor's latest film, the only picture debuting nationwide this weekend, is poised to have a healthy debut of around $37 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. Meanwhile, in its second weekend in theaters, "42" is expected to hold up well at the box office. The Jackie Robinson drama launched last weekend with a respectable $27.5 million and earned a perfect A+ average grade from moviegoers, market research firm CinemaScore said.

When mom, dad and the kids drive to the neighborhood theater to see "Days of Thunder" this summer, they may be surprised to discover that the family car has a starring role. The Chevrolet Lumina, the transportation of choice for many people whose favorite option is a child safety seat, turns up as Tom Cruise's howling monster of a race car in the film, complete with stickers on its neon-green body armor promoting auto parts, not theme parks.

These days it seems rare to encounter a big sci-fi movie that's not a remake, a sequel, a prequel or an adaptation of a well-known property (whether a novel, a comic book or even a toy). The new Tom Cruise film "Oblivion" is an exception: This story of a solitary drone repairman on a devastated future Earth grew out of director Joseph Kosinski's ("Tron: Legacy") own unpublished graphic novel. According to a number of lukewarm reviews, however, the film's originality is undercut by its derivativeness, as it borrows liberally from the sci-fi canon.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are getting a divorce. After nearly six years of marriage, a lawyer for Holmes said Friday that the pair are calling it quits. "This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family," attorney Jonathan Wolfe said in a statement to People, which broke the story. "Katie's primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest. " PHOTOS: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes through the years The couple had not yet filed papers with the L.A. Superior Court, officials told L.A. Now on Friday.

"I have nothing to lose," Tom Cruise says. He's not talking about his pending divorce from Katie Holmes, his wife of more than five years. Instead, the "Mission: Impossible" star utters that phrase — along with "I am not a hero" — in the trailer released Tuesday for "Jack Reacher," Cruise's next film. The Paramount Pictures action movie, due in theaters Dec. 21, is adapted from Lee Child's novel "One Shot" and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "The Usual Suspects.

The storm rages over Scientology and Tom Cruise, as a Vanity Fair article makes further allegations that the religion and its star frontman alienated Cruise's kids from their adoptive mother, Nicole Kidman. A much-discussed October cover story from the magazine claims that in the wake of Cruise and Kidman's 2001 split, the church held auditions seeking a replacement bride for the "Top Gun" actor, and further more marked his ex Kidman as a detractor. A "suppressive person," as the organization calls it, is an "antisocial" personality with a goal to block the mission of Scientology.

These days it seems rare to encounter a big sci-fi movie that's not a remake, a sequel, a prequel or an adaptation of a well-known property (whether a novel, a comic book or even a toy). The new Tom Cruise film "Oblivion" is an exception: This story of a solitary drone repairman on a devastated future Earth grew out of director Joseph Kosinski's ("Tron: Legacy") own unpublished graphic novel. According to a number of lukewarm reviews, however, the film's originality is undercut by its derivativeness, as it borrows liberally from the sci-fi canon.

Even the most oblivious of moviegoers will be well aware of "Oblivion" this weekend, as the Tom Cruise flick is set to claim No. 1 at the box office. The "Mission: Impossible" actor's latest film, the only picture debuting nationwide this weekend, is poised to have a healthy debut of around $37 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. Meanwhile, in its second weekend in theaters, "42" is expected to hold up well at the box office. The Jackie Robinson drama launched last weekend with a respectable $27.5 million and earned a perfect A+ average grade from moviegoers, market research firm CinemaScore said.

"Oblivion" will make you remember, not forget. This Tom Cruise vehicle is a throwback to the days when on-screen science fiction was about speculative ideas rather than selling toys to tots - think of it as the most expensive episode of "The Twilight Zone" ever made. "Oblivion" is not perfect. Its dystopian story makes no apologies for its familiarity, echoing such films as "The Planet of the Apes," "The Matrix," "2001" and even "Wall-E. " And expecting the wheels not to eventually begin to fall off its pleasantly complicated, head-spinning plot (based on the director Joseph Kosinski's graphic novel)

Tom Cruise may be one of the most controversial movie stars ever. His divorce from his third wife is tabloid fodder. Books and articles about his Scientology beliefs and how they affect his personal life have been escalating in the last few months. But Cruise stayed in the movie-star comfort zone Thursday during his visit to "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in a studio within throwing distance of a Scientology center. Dutifully promoting his new film "Oblivion," their conversation was complelely edge-free.

After the coffee. Before finding out who took my "Mad Men" screener. The Skinny: I'm on the fence with Fox's "The Following," which is so grim it is sometimes hard to watch. That said, the cast is terrific. Tuesday's headlines include stories on the end of Daily Variety, a big deal for media mogul John Malone, Tom Cruise may have a new movie, and Hollywood's race to blow up the White House.  Daily Dose: Daily Variety, which published its final print edition Tuesday (see below)

Usually when the words "shots fired" are linked to Tom Cruise, it's in the context of a big-budget action movie. Not so Thursday, when Beverly Hills police surrounded the actor's home just before noon in response to an emergency call that turned out to be yet another "swatting" hoax. After receiving a report of an armed robbery in progress, police surrounded the home, according to L.A. Now . However, "no emergency was discovered," the Beverly Hills Police Department said in a news release.

This post has been updated. See below for details. The Church of Scientology and Tom Cruise are certainly laboring this holiday weekend. An explosive new report contends the organization auditioned potential brides for Cruise following his 2001 split from Nicole Kidman -- one that's been backed up by a famous detractor of the religion. On Saturday, Vanity Fair magazine released a cover story titled "What Katie Didn't Know," an expose claiming an effort on the part of the church to find and vet partners for Cruise, a title that eventually went to his now ex-wife Katie Holmes.

"Oblivion" will make you remember, not forget. This Tom Cruise vehicle is a throwback to the days when on-screen science fiction was about speculative ideas rather than selling toys to tots - think of it as the most expensive episode of "The Twilight Zone" ever made. "Oblivion" is not perfect. Its dystopian story makes no apologies for its familiarity, echoing such films as "The Planet of the Apes," "The Matrix," "2001" and even "Wall-E. " And expecting the wheels not to eventually begin to fall off its pleasantly complicated, head-spinning plot (based on the director Joseph Kosinski's graphic novel)

Who'd have thought a history of a religion would offer so many guilty pleasures? Lawrence Wright's enthralling account of Scientology's rise, "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief," brims with celebrity scandal. To anyone who gets a sugar rush from Hollywood gossip, the chapters on Tom Cruise and John Travolta will feel like eating a case of Ding Dongs. But celebrities are serious business in Scientology. L. Ron Hubbard, who founded his church in Los Angeles in 1954, recognized their value in attracting followers.

“Rock of Ages,” the Broadway musical that's also been made into a movie starring Tom Cruise, has landed in Las Vegas as the latest in a line of productions to be formatted for the Sin City stage.  Its website says the two-hour performance celebrates the "great rock music of the '80s. " It's set along the Sunset Strip and tells the tale of two young people -- Drew (Justin Mortelliti) and Sherrie (Carrie St. Louis) -- who move to Los Angeles in 1987 to pursue their dreams.