Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Kicks Off With $7 Million in Box Office Previews

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 2018s Mission: Impossible Fallout, the most recent adventure anchored by Tom Cruises teflon operative Ethan Hunt, picked up $6 million in previews before launching to $61 million, a franchise record.

For another point of reference, Disneys 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 Skydances 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 thats because the $300 million-budgeted Dial of Destiny wasnt afforded longevity in theaters. Its barely crawled past $250 million after two weeks of release. Although Mission: Impossible movies dont 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. Thats because it cost $290 million, a figure that skyrocketed due toCOVID-related starts and stopsand other pandemic-era safety measures. And the series isnt 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 Pixars 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 Gerwigs neon-coated Barbie (July 21) and Christopher Nolans atomic bomb drama Oppenheimer (also on July 21).