It was a mission that moviegoers chose to accept. Mission: Impossible – Fallout opened at number one over the weekend and secured a franchise-best debut in the process.
With an estimated $61.5 million, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the number one movie in America and it delivered the best three-day opening of the franchise which was originally held by Mission: Impossible II back in 2000 which grossed $57.8 million. This is also the second-largest opening for Tom Cruise, the first being the $64.8 million debut of War of the Worlds. Looking ahead, the film should see decent legs as it’s the last major tentpole release of the summer and reviews are particularly strong (someone pointed out over the weekend that its 98% on Rotten Tomatoes makes it the highest rated film of Tom Cruise’s career on the site). It also received a franchise-best CinemaScore of “A” from opening day audiences.
The Mission films are huge international players as well as the last two films grossed nearly $700 million worldwide. Fallout, which cost $178 million to make, is off to a fantastic start overseas to ensure that it also follows suit. The film debuted in 36 markets overseas and opened to $92 million, 19% ahead of the international opening for Rogue Nation.
The holdovers from last weekend took a larger hit than expected with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again dropping to second with $15 million. That’s a hefty drop of 57% which shows it won’t have the legs of the original film. The movie has grossed $70.4 million to date and will surpass its $75 million budget shortly but it will be interesting to see where it ends up exactly because this drop was larger than anticipated, especially with the lack of competition within the primary demographic.
Also dropping hard in weekend two, likely because of the debut of Mission: Impossible, is The Equalizer 2 which grossed $14 million. That’s a large drop of 61.1% which brings its domestic total to $64.2 million. The first film dropped 45% in its second weekend so this drop shows that the reception isn’t as stellar for the sequel and now it will be interesting to see if it can match the $101.2 million gross of the original film. I’m thinking it may fall a bit short.
Dropping to fourth is Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation with $12.3 million. The animated sequel dropped 48.2% and brings its domestic total to $119.2 million. The drops have been a tad heavy for an animated film but it’s pretty much in line with what the franchise has grossed at this point of release. The film carries an $80 million budget so it’s still a win for the studio.
Rounding out the top five is Teen Titans Go! To The Movies with $10.5 million. The opening is a bit soft and many thought it would open higher considering the glowing reviews (90% on Rotten Tomatoes) but the opening suggests it couldn’t break out beyond its target audience. The film carries a $10 million budget so that softens the blow a bit but I don’t expect a long theatrical life for the film.
Check out the full top ten results below:
| Film | Total | % Change | Gross to Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onward | $10,601,952 | -72.9% | $60.3 |
| Bloodshot | $9,176,695 | NEW | $9.17 |
| I Still Believe | $9,103,614 | NEW | $9.10 |
| The Invisible Man | $5,890,805 | -61.1% | $64.3 |
| The Hunt | $5,304,455 | NEW | $5.3 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | $2,522,584 | -67.3% | $145.7 |
| The Way Back | $2,356,115 | -71.2% | $13.3 |
| The Call of the Wild | $2,226,720 | -67.1% | $62 |
| Emma. | $1,295,215 | -73% | $9.9 |
| Bad Boys for Life | $1,102,208 | -63.5% | $204.2 |
