Summary

• Mission: Impossible 7's underwhelming box office performance suggests that audiences may be tiring of the long-running franchise.
• Despite positive critical reception and breathtaking action sequences, the movie made $223.5 million less than its predecessor, marking the biggest drop-off in Tom Cruise's career.
• Underperforming sequels have historically led to franchise cancellations, but a sequel to Dead Reckoning Part One is already confirmed, although the series' future is uncertain.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One received rave reviews from critics and audiences, but the movie's disappointing box office continued one of the most unexpected sequel trends of Tom Cruise's career. Largely thanks to his roles in the long-running action franchise, Cruise is widely recognized as one of the most bankable stars in the movie industry. However, despite appearing in movies that have made over $12 billion at the global box office, Cruise's career hasn't been a complete success story.

Mission: Impossible 7 continued to expand the franchise beyond the story set up in Mission: Impossible Fallout. Following the previous movie's dramatic conclusion in Pakistan, Dead Reckoning Part One failed to deliver financially in the way many expected.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Is Tom Cruise's Fourth Sequel To Make Less At The Box Office

On the surface, Mission: Impossible 7 seemed to be a relatively strong box office performer. The movie made a total of $567.5 million at the global box office, bringing the entire series up to a total of $4.13 billion. However, this performance was somewhat mitigated by the film's huge budget of between $219 and $291 million, meaning that it was not as profitable as it might seem. Not only that, but the movie became just the fourth sequel of Tom Cruise's career to make less at the box office than the previous installment in the series.

Continuing a trend established by Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, and Jack Reacher Never Look Back, the movie made $223.5 million less at the box office than Mission: Impossible Fallout. This actually marked the biggest drop-off of Cruise's career to date – a surprising statistic considering the longevity of the Mission: Impossible brand and the film's positive critical reception. Considering that Mission: Impossible III was a radical change of direction for the franchise and that Rogue Nation followed what was then the most commercially successful entry in the series, M:I7 seems even more disappointing, spelling bad news for the entire series.

Tom Cruise's Sequels Underperforming Has Killed Franchises Before

A worrying sign for Mission: Impossible fans is that underperforming Tom Cruise sequels have a history of canceling entire franchises. Never Go Back saw a complete change of direction for the Jack Reacher series, with the cinematic approach being eschewed in favor of the Alan Ritchson Amazon TV show. Likewise, while Mission: Impossible III didn't completely kill the franchise, it did cause a significant delay before Ghost Protocol got things back on track. With Dead Reckoning's story only halfway complete, a similar impact would be devastating. However, it's already confirmed that Part One won't completely kill the saga.

Dead Reckoning's Box Office Won't End Mission: Impossible - But The End Might Be In Sight

Despite the lackluster box office of Dead Reckoning Part One, it is already known that a sequel will follow on May 23, 2025. Although the follow-up has already been delayed by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, all reports indicate that production on the as-yet-untitled Mission: Impossible 8 is now back on track, with the movie anticipated to be a climactic swansong to Cruise's time as Ethan Hunt. However, while director Cristopher McQuarrie has insisted that the movie doesn't have to end the series, Dead Reckoning Part One's box office may yet force his and the series' producers' hands.

Even though critics are just as enamored with the franchise as ever, Mission: Impossible 7's surprising box office is the clearest indication yet that audiences are tiring of the series. Much as F9 and Fast X highlighted the Fast and the Furious franchise's downward trajectory, Dead Reckoning Part One and its sequel could be collateral damage in audiences' search for something new. Even with Cruise and the series' impressive records, all franchises eventually outstay their welcome. With the series' next movie guaranteed to be a direct follow-up to one of the franchise's most financially disappointing installments, diminishing returns could see the Mission: Impossible series end with a whimper.