“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” ignited to $7 million on Tuesday previews, a solid start before the film opens nationwide on Wednesday.
Comparisons are difficult because “Dead Reckoning Part One” is the first installment in the long-running series to debut on a Wednesday rather than a Friday. But 2018’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” the most recent adventure anchored by Tom Cruise’s teflon operative Ethan Hunt, picked up $6 million in previews before launching to $61 million, a franchise record.
For another point of reference, Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” landed $7.2 million in Thursday previews when it opened in advance of July 4th. The action-adventure, starring Harrison Ford, went on to earn $60 million over the traditional weekend and $83.5 million through the five-day holiday frame.
Paramount and Skydance’s big-budget tentpole is projected to collect at least $60 million between Friday and Sunday. In its first five days of release, ticket sales for “Dead Reckoning Part One” are expected to reach $85 million to $95 million in North America and $160 million at the international box office for a strong global start of $250 million.
“Indiana Jones” was hit with negative headlines for similar domestic ticket sales, but that’s because the $300 million-budgeted “Dial of Destiny” wasn’t afforded longevity in theaters. It’s barely crawled past $250 million after two weeks of release. Although “Mission: Impossible” movies don’t always have the biggest opening weekends, but they usually have endurance on the big screen. In the case of “Fallout,” the movie ended its run with $791 million to stand as the highest-grossing entry in the 27-year-old series.
“Dead Reckoning Part One” needs to have similar stamina at the box office. That’s because it cost $290 million, a figure that skyrocketed due toCOVID-related starts and stopsand other pandemic-era safety measures. And the series isn’t going anywhere. As the unwieldy title suggests, a sequel called “Dead Reckoning Part Two” is in the works for next summer.
“Mission: Impossible 7,” which has been widely praised by critics, should benefit from reviews and word-of-mouth. Christopher McQuarrie returned to direct the latest installment, which follows Ethan Hunt and his team at the Impossible Mission Force as they work to take down a mysterious, all-powerful artificial intelligence force known as “The Entity.” Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Vanessa Kirby and Pom Klementieff round out the cast.
After a lackluster start to summer blockbuster seasons, with big-budget disappointments like “The Flash,” “Indiana Jones 5” and Pixar’s “Elemental,” the seventh “Mission: Impossible” looks to kick off a standout July at the box office. Ethan Hunt will soon be joined on movie theater marquees by Greta Gerwig’s neon-coated “Barbie” (July 21) and Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb drama “Oppenheimer” (also on July 21).
