Having completed over a month of release in theaters worldwide, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is stalling at the worst possible position. The movie can neither be called a bona fide hit, nor can it be described as a flop. Considering its hefty production budget and sky-high expectations, however, it certainly falls into the underperformer category. The Final Reckoning, which was marketed as the last installment of the iconic action franchise headlined by Tom Cruise, still hasn’t overtaken its direct predecessor, the commercially disappointing Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. It has, however, overtaken the lifetime global hauls of the franchise’s second installment, and one of director Michael Bay’s most beloved action epics.
With $185 million domestically and another $377 million from overseas markets, the film’s cumulative global haul currently stands at $562 million. This puts it above the $550 million lifetime haul of Mission: Impossible 2, and the $555 million lifetime haul of Armageddon. The Final Reckoning was produced on a reported budget of $400 million, making it one of the most expensive films of all time. What this also means is that it needed to make around $800 million — in other words, become the series’ top-grossing installment — just in order to break even. This is out of the question now, although these movies typically have a long tail, meaning that they keep generating revenue through ancillary means for decades.
Paramount had a downright turbulent time on these last two films, spending a total of around $700 million on them across half-a-decade. Production was derailed by the pandemic, and then by the industry-wide strikes of 2023. Costs additionally ballooned because of Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie’s insistence on pulling off incredible in-camera stunts, and their atypical working style that involves writing on the fly and improvising as things proceed.
Cruise Is Pivoting Away from Action for Now
The strategy paid off handsomely several times before, with Mission: Impossible – Fallout grossing nearly $800 million worldwide and earning a reputation as one of the greatest action movies ever made. But Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning’s underperformance suggests that Cruise made the right decision to pivot away from action, now that he’s approaching his mid-60s. He’ll next team up with the Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu on an untitled new film. You can watch The Final Reckoning in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.