Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout zoomed past the $500 million worldwide. That includes a new domestic total of $180m after 24 days of North American release. The Paramount/Viacom Inc. action sequel fell just 46% this weekend. That’s a larger drop/smaller gross than the fourth weekend of Rogue Nation, but the likes of Mile 22 and The Meg are creating demographic competition in a way that Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Fantastic Four did not three years ago.
Although, inflation notwithstanding, it had a bigger fourth-weekend drop and smaller fourth-weekend ($10 million) gross than any of the prior four Mission: Impossible movies save for M:I back in 1996 and M:I 3 in 2006. So, yeah, it’s losing leg traction compared to its predecessors, and its fourth-weekend drop is closer to War for the Planet of the Apes (-41%) than Star Trek Beyond (-31%). The film’s $181m cume is just below the $181m unadjusted total of Mission: Impossible back in 1996 (around $380m adjusted for inflation).
Once it gets past $190 million, it’ll have sold more tickets in North America than Mission: Impossible III ($134m un 2006). And if it continues to play like, for example, Star Trek Beyond, Jason Bourne and War for the Planet of the Apes (films that took bigger second-weekend dives), it’s still looking at an over/under $205m domestic total. A run closer to Rogue Nation or The Bourne Supremacy (around 1.25x its 24-day total), we’re looking at a $220-$225m domestic finish.
That’ll put it past the unadjusted totals of every Tom Cruise movie save War of the Worlds ($235 million in 2005). There’s a chance, however remote, that it legs it like Guardians of the Galaxy and ends up with a just-under $240m domestic cume. Again, that’s unlikely with so much action competition, but this weekend really is the last biggie of the season (I’ll happily eat my words if Happytime Murders breaks out), so it’ll have some time before The Nun and Peppermint on Sept. 7.
Credit some obvious factors, such as rave reviews, audience goodwill from the last two installments, Tom Cruise’s potent draw when he’s playing Ethan Hunt (which at this point is near-autobiographical) and the franchise becoming a true ensemble piece. Folks aren’t just showing up for Cruise, but also the likes of Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Henry Cavill’s mustache. Whether or not the increase in continuity or the ensemble factor made a difference, it should be noted that Mission: Impossible has taken bits and pieces from the soft reboots of Fast and the Furious (“Family!”) and the James Bond franchise (“It’s all connected!”) and created a superior modern-day action franchise. Forbes
Pix: Tom Cruise Mission Impossible 6
