Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One scored a hefty $235 million opening at the global box office. Of that, $80 million comes domestically, with international earnings contributing $155 million. The amount is significant for the seventh installment of a franchise that is running for three decades now, even as it fell behind analyst expectations who were eyeing a $90 million domestic opening. Also notable is the fact that these numbers are for the film’s extended 5-day opening weekend as Dead Reckoning Part One released on a Wednesday.
In the past few years, Mission: Impossible movies have debuted towards the tail-end of the summer season, which has helped it with long legs. Mission: Impossible – Fallout opened in 2018 to a $61 million domestic opening and went on to earn $791 million worldwide at the box office, becoming the highest grossing movie in the franchise. That comparison certainly bodes well for Dead Reckoning Part One and gives it an encouraging outlook.
What’s worth noting though is that Fallout debuted on a Friday. As such, its $61 million represents a 3-day opening weekend. The Friday-to-Sunday weekend haul for Dead Reckoning Part One stands at $54.6 million whereas its first three day earnings are $40.4 million, neither of which can serve as a direct comparison, but only offer some perspective. Additionally, all IMAX screens will be taken away by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer next week for the subsequent 3 weeks. And with Barbie looking to snatch some 2D screens on the heels of high anticipation and strong buzz, Dead Reckoning Part One could possibly see a massive drop.
Lastly, while $791 million may have been a pretty decent final tally for Fallout, Dead Reckoning Part One could need to earn substantially more to recoup its costs. That’s in large part due to its mammoth $291 million budget that swelled on account of its practical stunts and COVID protocols. Second week numbers should be particularly interesting. I’ll keep an eye out on box-office reports and post my analysis once they hit the web.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is currently in theaters. You can check out my review here.
