Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One took over the box office, scoring a franchise-best $80M domestically through its first five days and $155M globally for a solid $235M worldwide opening, per Deadline.
Now, the 3-day $56.2M haul is a little underwhelming considering Dead Reckoning’s hefty $290M price tag, which is on par with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($60M), a film dubbed as an enormous flop. However, there are a few things to consider here. First, Indy struggled to produce numbers overseas and has made just $263M worldwide during its first three weeks of release. Dead Reckoning performed incredibly well abroad, as is customary with the franchise. The last entry, Fallout, earned $571M internationally and $220M stateside, eventually reaching $791M. These films are notoriously backloaded and cater to older crowds who don’t need to rush out and see them on opening weekends or premium formats.
Moreover, Saturday saw a 28% increase over Friday, meaning word of mouth has already propelled this one to greater heights. Indiana Jones dipped 21.5% (per BoxOfficeMojo) from Friday to Saturday, nearly 70% in its second weekend, and another 60% in Week 3. Despite the onslaught of competition in the form of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greg Gerwig’s Barbie, the expectation is that Dead Reckoning lingers and gets close to Fallout’s WW total. Remember, the Mission: Impossible brand isn’t as powerful amongst general audiences as Top Gun: Maverick, which reached $1.493B globally and might have fueled increased expectations for Dead Reckoning.
Also, Dead Reckoning is pacing 15% ahead of Fallout internationally and has yet to open in Japan, a country that contributed $42M to that film’s total. On the negative side, Dead Reckoning is pacing 66% behind Fallout in China, which dropped $181M in Fallout ticket sales in 2018. Things are much different these days, post-pandemic.
All this to say, Dead Reckoning, thanks to a healthy A CinemaScore, should be fine in the long run, even if it’s not the colossal hit many (including myself) expected.
Elsewhere, Angel Studios’ Sound of Freedom continues to blow past expectations. The modestly produced thriller actually increased sales by 37% in its second weekend, hauling in a terrific $27M to bring its domestic total to $85M.
Last week’s champ, Insidious: The Red Door, endured the expected 60% horror dip in its sophomore frame but has grossed $58M domestically, nearly four times its production budget. So, no one is screaming at the massive second-weekend drop.
Things get really interesting this weekend. Barbie could be the breakout hit of the summer, a solid, brightly-colored comedy that stands out amongst the creaky Transformers and Indiana Jones offerings. Oppenheimer is the wild card here with its R-rating and questionable 3-hour runtime. This one needs exceptional reviews and word-of-mouth to blast through the competition. Although, to be fair, its budget is said to be $100M, meaning it doesn’t have to gross a billion to break even.
Box Office Results:
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Par) 4,327 theaters, Fri $16.7M, Sat $21.4M Sun $18.1M 3-day $56.2M, 5-day $80M/Wk 1
- Sound of Freedom (Angel) 3,265 (+413) theaters, Fri $7.4M, Sat $10.2M Sun $9.2M 3-day $27M (+37%), Total $85.4M/Wk 2
- Insidous: The Red Door (Sony/Blum) 3,188 theaters Fri $4.15M Sat $5M Sun $3.78M 3-day $13M (-60%)/Total $58M/Wk 2
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Dis) 3,865 (-735) theaters, Fri $3.3M Sat $4.9M Sun $3.8M 3-day $12M (-56%)/Total $145.3M/Wk 3
- Elemental (Dis) 3,235 (-205) theaters, Fri $2.6M Sat $3.5M Sun $2.6M 3-day $8.7M (-13%), Total $125.2M/Wk 5
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) 2,577 (-446) theaters, Fri $1.72M Sat $2.3M Sun $1.95M 3-day $6.05M (-25%) Total $368.7M /Wk 7
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Par) 2,041 (-434) theaters, Fri $940K Sat $1.38M Sun $1.1M 3-day $3.42M (-33%) Total $152.7M/Wk 6
- No Hard Feelings (Sony) 2,053 (-633) theaters, Fri $1M Sat $1.3M Sun $960K 3-day $3.3M (-39%), Total $46.5M /Wk 4
- Joy Ride (LG) 2,820 theaters, Fri $771K Sat $1M Sun $751K 3-day $2.57M(-56%)/Total $10.6M/Wk 2
- The Little Mermaid (Dis) 1,615 (-465) theaters, Fri $675K Sat $950K Sun $725K 3-day $2.35M (-36%) Total $293.9M/ Wk 8
