Published: Jun 28, 2023
Synopsis
Distributed By: Paramount | Release Date: 7/12/23 | Run Time: 163 Minutes
Adventure. In this 7th installment of the franchise, Ethan Hunt and the IMF team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins.…Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames
Screening Notes
Come on, who drives a motorcycle off a 2,000 ft cliff, then base jumps to the bottom…six times in one day so cinematographers can cover all the angles! Watching promotional playback of the stunt was exciting but watching it in context of lead-up to landing, on a 50-foot screen was stomach-churning. Tom Cruise IS the man. The Mission: Impossible franchise is known for its edge-of-your-seat action intensity and MI7 more than lives up to the legacy. Filming for MI7 began 40 months ago (Feb’20), so given recent headlines, it’s a bit unsettling (but provides the film with some timely buzz) that Artificial Intelligence is cast as the villain…yikes. I found the film much more serious than the others, with less of the lively snappy banter; but this movie is intense and sets a fast pace, with no drag in the 160 minute run time; the MI7 support team (Luther and Benji) are always solid and enjoyable to watch (but seems they had less screen time than in past films); Hayley Atwell is a super addition; and it was fun to see “Director Kittridge” back in the game. As much as I despise “to-be-continued” movies (we now have to wait a LONG 50 weeks for Part 2), Part 1 did have a solid (and VERY exciting) ending and nicely set the stage for the 2nd half, and closure of the franchise.
Boxoffice Estimate
Mission: Impossible has a very devout fanbase but hasn’t necessarily been a “BIG” franchise, the average opening weekend is $50M, going on to total $193M…a respectable 3.9x multiple; to-date, MI6 (Fallout) is both the highest opening ($61M) and total grossing ($220M) of the previous six titles. Most unfairly, the franchise only averages a 72 Audience Rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the first four averaging 65 and the last two 87. MI7 should score an Audience Rating somewhere between 88 to 92.
Two points should push MI7 to be the 2nd highest opening and total grossing film in Tom Cruise’s stellar career…first, let’s not underestimate a lingering Tom afterglow from last year’s Top Gun…Maverick will live on forever. Second, this is actually a very good film, that action/adventure film lovers, and, most importantly, Tom Cruise fans, will enjoy.
My number crunching points to a $70M opening, with a range between $63M and $76M. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, opening 1-week later, is slated to bump MI7 from most PLF screens, so this leads me to expect a total multiple of 3.6x, lower than the 3.9x Mission: Impossible franchise average, but higher than the 3.5x for the recent comp set titles. The film’s final gross is estimated between $226M and $276M.
Click To Watch Trailer !
Comments