Mission: Impossible 7 Opens Big, But Not Big Enough To Save The Summer Box Office
It may not be on the same level as last year's record-shattering "Top Gun: Maverick," but Tom Cruise is once again here to try and save the day with "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One." The latest entry in the long-running franchise opened mid-week last week, giving it a full five days in theaters to goose the numbers for Paramount Pictures. In the end, it all went pretty well as the film earned $235 million globally across those five days, setting a new record for the "Mission" series. That said, it's not going to be enough to entirely save what has been a pretty brutal summer. More on that in a moment.
According to The Numbers, director Christopher McQuarrie's "Dead Reckoning" earned $80 million domestically across the five-day opening, including $56.2 million over the weekend. That was more than enough to give the film the number one spot over the surprise faith-based hit "Sound of Freedom," which collected $27 million largely thanks to a "Pay it Forward" program where tickets can be purchased for those who couldn't otherwise afford to see the film. In any event, that $80 million figure represents a series best, topping the five-day openings of "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" ($77.5 million) and "Mission: Impossible II" ($78.8 million).
That five-day, $155 million international opening is really worth focusing on. That's actually more than "Top Gun: Maverick" made during its first weekend ($126.7 million) overseas. It's far from an apples-to-apples situation, as this movie has two extra days and "Maverick" opened over Memorial Day, but it's a very good sign because Paramount spent a whopping $295 million – before marketing – on "Dead Reckoning, Part One." This big opening takes a little bit of the pressure off.
Can it go the distance?
To reach a conceivable break-even point, Ethan Hunt's latest cinematic adventure would probably need to make around $885 million, give or take, applying a three times multiplier to that budget to account for marketing and the cut theaters take. Not to mention the fact that Cruise gets a big cut of the box office for himself. So the question is, can this movie actually make the money it needs to make? Maybe!
Currently, "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" is the king of the franchise with $787 million worldwide. That movie opened to $61.2 million domestically but, more importantly, made 72% ($566.4 million) of that total from international markets. Cruise and this series in particular have a massive overseas audience. The only real downside is China, where "Dead Reckoning" performed well below "Fallout," but that has more to do with post-pandemic realities as Hollywood can no longer rely on grosses from the country.
In any event, if "Dead Reckoning" can leg out like previous films in the series, it has a surprisingly decent shot at not being a financial disaster. It boasts an A CinemaScore and a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting word of mouth will be very, very strong. That's good because the movie will need to endure in the face of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," which both open this weekend, and both are expected to bring out moviegoers en masse.
The summer so far
Comparisons have rightfully been made to "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," which also boasts a budget in the $300 million range and had a similar opening weekend domestically. The big difference here is that movie only just crossed the $300 million mark worldwide over the weekend. "Dead Reckoning" will hit that mark in a matter of days, thanks to generally better reception and a much larger overseas audience. Again, it's not a like-for-like situation.
But it does get to the heart of the bigger issue, which is that many major franchise installments have disappointed against sky-high expectations this summer. "The Flash" is one of the biggest superhero movie bombs ever, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is going to struggle to even match what "Bumblebee" made, and originals like "Joy Ride" failed to do much of anything to move the needle. The industry needed a hit and they absolutely got one. It's just not going to be a "Maverick"-sized hit that can single-handedly bail out the movie business. But it's a good start nonetheless — ridiculous, pandemic-inflated budget notwithstanding.
"Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One" is in theaters now.