Following a great opening weekend, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘s box office performance has gone down in history in more ways than one. Tom Cruise’s eighth, and potentially final, Mission: Impossible movie arrived with major expectations for it financially. Reports of a potentially $400 million budget for The Final Reckoning led to increased discussions about the film’s path to profitability, especially considering the prior film, ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning, topped out at the box office at $571 million worldwide. Luckily, projections pointed to a record opening for the franchise, and the audience ensured it met expectations.

The Final Reckoning now holds the Mission: Impossible franchise record for the largest opening weekend domestically. It generated $64 million over the traditional three-day weekend, but the extended four-day weekend, including Memorial Day, increased the figures to $79 million. The former figure was just ahead of Mission: Impossible – Fallout‘s $61 million opening in 2018, which was the franchise record. In a weekend full of records for the franchise, The Final Reckoning‘s box office opening also claimed a franchise first it probably didn’t want.

Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning Came In 2nd Place At The Box Office In Its Opening Weekend

It Wasn’t Even That Close

The record opening that The Final Reckoning had is impressive, especially considering it went head-to-head with a box office juggernaut. Disney released its live-action Lilo & Sтιтch remake on the same day as Paramount’s new Tom Cruise action blockbuster. Although its been over 20 years since the original animated Lilo & Sтιтch, which Tom Cruise beat at the box office with Minority Report, the remake still resonated with audiences. Lilo & Sтιтch made $146 million over the three-day weekend, and a Memorial Day record $186 million over the extended four-day weekend.

That performance was more than enough to put Lilo & Sтιтch on top of the weekend box office. The result meant Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning finished in second place with its $64 million/$79 million opening. Lilo & Sтιтch grossed over double what The Final Reckoning did during the same period domestically. That’s not as bad as it may sound, considering The Final Reckoning has a much longer runtime, played in nearly 600 fewer theaters, and is not a four-quadrant release like Lilo & Sтιтch.

The odds were never really in The Final Reckoning‘s favor to win this matchup against Lilo & Sтιтch for those reasons. Cruise’s sequel was always tracking behind Disney’s live-action remake, so the result isn’t surprising. Both movies exceeded their loftiest projections, indicating that a significant number of people attended theaters to see one of the two major new releases. This is further communicated in Final Destination Bloodlines, Thunderbolts*, Sinners, The Last Rodeo, and Friendship, all of which also had solid performances in their various weeks of release.

The Final Reckoning Is The 1st Mission: Impossible Movie Not To Win The Opening Weekend Box Office

…With A Caveat

The Final Reckoning finishing in second place to Lilo & Sтιтch is significant for the Mission: Impossible franchise as a whole. It marks the first time that one of these Tom Cruise movies did not open at number one domestically and win the weekend.

The history of Mission: Impossible being the #1 new release with each installment dates back to 1996. Cruise’s first film in the series made $56.8 million over the Memorial Day weekend, beating Twister‘s third weekend haul of $37.9 million. Mission: Impossible II then opened to $70.8 million over the Memorial Day weekend in 2000, beating Disney’s Dinosaur ($32 million) in its second weekend. Mission: Impossible III made $47.7 million in its opening weekend six years later, easily beating the Robin Williams comedy RV ($11 million) in its second weekend.

The franchise’s history of opening at #1 continued with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 2011, although this one is a bit different. The fourth installment in the franchise had a limited IMAX-exclusive release ahead of its wide release on December 21. If you look on box office sites like Box Office Mojo, the film is credited with a $12 million opening weekend from December 16-18, where it finished in third, behind Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ($39.6 million) and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ($23.2 million).

It’s unfair to compare Ghost Protocol‘s IMAX-exclusive opening to the rest of the Mission: Impossible movies when they all had regular releases. It’s better to factor in the movie’s wide release opening weekend, from December 23-25. Ghost Protocol moved up to first during this stretch, earning $29.5 million compared to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which dropped to $20.2 million. If we use that as the mark for when the fourth film really opened up in theaters, then the franchise’s #1 opening streak continues.

From there, Mission: Impossible continued to easily win the weekend ahead of The Final Reckoning. 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation made $55.5 million in its opening, beating Warner Bros.’s Vacation reboot ($14.6 million). Mission: Impossible – Fallout then earned $61.2 million, topping Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again‘s $15.1 million in its second weekend. Then, Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning grossed $54.6 million to beat Sound of Freedom ($27.2 million).

What’s notable, to me, about these past openings compared to The Final Reckoning is the direct compeтιтion. None of the previous movies had another major release set to come out on the same day that was viewed as a significant box office contender. Lilo & Sтιтch is easily the biggest new release that a new Mission: Impossible has ever opened up against. The second-place finish for The Final Reckoning makes sense in that way.

Mission: Impossible Could’ve Continued Its Box Office Winning Ways With A Different The Final Reckoning Release Date

The Movie Stacks Up Well

There is a certain amount of pride and success that comes with being known as the #1 movie in the world. It is clear this is true for Paramount, as the franchise’s social media accounts are still highlighting The Final Reckoning as the “#1 action movie in the world,” making a clever distinction between it and Lilo & Sтιтch. This ignores the reality that Mission: Impossible likely would have retained its opening weekend winning streak with a different The Final Reckoning release date.

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The Final Reckoning still managed to have the fifth biggest opening weekend of the year. It only trailed A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Sтιтch, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts*. This suggests that it would have won its weekend if it had come out on a different day. Releasing two weeks earlier would’ve meant needing to clear the $32 million Thunderbolts* made in its second weekend. Releasing one week earlier would’ve meant going head-to-head with Final Destination Bloodlines and its $51 million opening. The Final Reckoning would have beaten both in theory.

The Final Reckoning’s Box Office Is Still Off To A Great Start, Even If It Didn’t Win The Weekend

2nd Place Is Still Impressive This Time