Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, the latest installment in the action-packed franchise starring Tom Cruise, started off strong with a record-breaking $80 million opening at the box office. However, it struggled to maintain its momentum when faced with tough competition from the highly anticipated films Barbie and Oppenheimer. The phenomenon, now dubbed the “Barbenheimer,” saw Mission: Impossible 7 plummet by a staggering 64% in its second weekend, earning only $19.5 million domestically. This drastic drop marks the highest decline in the entire Mission: Impossible saga, surpassing the previous record held by Mission: Impossible 2.
Last year, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick achieved immense success at the box office, earning $126,707,459 in its opening weekend and an impressive total of $718,732,821 during its theatrical run. Consequently, the disappointing numbers for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One come as a significant setback for Paramount Pictures.
In contrast, Barbie and Oppenheimer delivered outstanding performances on their opening weekend, providing a much-needed boost to the cinema industry amidst the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic. Barbenheimer’s debut secured the fourth-highest opening weekend in cinema history domestically, trailing only behind Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Remarkably, Barbie raked in $337 million globally, surpassing its $145 million budget, while Oppenheimer exceeded expectations with a $174 million opening, all with a budget of $100 million.
The success of both films can be attributed to the passionate support from fans, who actively campaigned for the projects and flocked to theaters to witness the double feature. As Hollywood navigates its way through the current crisis, the remarkable achievements of Barbie and Oppenheimer offer a glimmer of hope for the film industry.
Despite the impressive releases of Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and John Wick: Chapter 4, some major franchises have encountered underwhelming box office results. Notably, Fast X and The Flash struggled to meet expectations, with the latter becoming one of the worst openings in DC’s history. As the cinema landscape continues to evolve, these ups and downs showcase the ever-changing nature of the film industry.
