Having completed a full month of release, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hasn’t turned out to be the mega-hit that the studio would’ve envisioned when it spent a reported $400 million on it. The movie was marketed as the final installment of the long-running action franchise, presumably in an effort to boost interest. It’s unclear if this strategy worked, or if audiences saw through it, because neither star Tom Cruise nor director Christopher McQuarrie has clearly indicated that the franchise is done for good. That being said, there’s reason to celebrate in the Paramount camp this weekend: The Final Reckoning has overtaken two major titles in its fifth weekend of release domestically.
Including the nearly $2 million that it pulled on Friday, the movie’s running domestic total has passed the $172 million lifetime haul of its predecessor, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and also the $173 million lifetime haul of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the first theatrical spinoff of the massively popular action franchise. Like the Mission: Impossible movies, the Fast and Furious blockbusters are also known for their imaginative stunt sequences, although they’re considerably more goofy. Produced on a reported budget of $200 million, Hobbs & Shaw featured Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson in the lead roles, and grossed over $700 million at the worldwide box office.
Directed by David Leitch, the movie earned moderately positive reviews, and is currently sitting at a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s no denying that The Final Reckoning was received more enthusiastically by critics, despite being more divisive than its immediate predecessors. It holds an 80% score on the aggregator website. However, the chances of it overtaking Hobbs & Shaw globally are growing slimmer by the day. In any case, the movie can’t be counted as a hit unless it grosses more than $800 million worldwide, which is a wild target to hit. The franchise’s current number one film is Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which made $791 million globally and $220 million domestically.
Cruise Will Be Honored with an Oscar Next Year
This weekend, The Final Reckoning will hope to come within touching distance of Dead Reckoning‘s $565 million lifetime global haul; it’s currently sitting at $512 million, which isn’t an ideal place for a $400 million tent pole to be in at this stage of its run. Now in his 60s, Cruise seems to be pivoting away from action, and will next be seen in director Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s new film. This year, Cruise will also receive an honorary Oscar for his contributions to cinema and stunt work, before The Academy institutes a long-awaited category for stunt performers next year. There’s a sense of an ending here; stay tuned to Collider for more updates.