Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Scores $235 Million Global Launch

The international appeal of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise is strong, and has only increased over time, with 2018's "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" earning 72.2 percent of its final box office total from overseas markets. Now, "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" looks set to continue the trend.

Variety reports that the sequel has grossed $235 million worldwide in its first five days of release, including $155 million from overseas in 70 markets. The sequel set new franchise records in 35 international markets, including the United Kingdom, India, Australia, and New Zealand. One country where it has fallen significantly short of previous records is China, where "Fallout" opened with $74 million but "Dead Reckoning Part One" grossed just $25.4 million at launch. This reflects how China, despite being one of the biggest films market in the world, has become an uncertain source of box office revenue for U.S. movies.

Domestically, "Dead Reckoning" has fallen slightly short of expectations, grossing $80 million in its first five days including $56.2 million Friday-to-Sunday. That's less than the $61.2 million opening weekend total scored by "Fallout," though that movie opened on a Friday and those numbers include ticket sales from Thursday night previews. Since "Dead Reckoning Part One" opened on Wednesday, it's difficult to draw a direct comparison between the two. 

Comparisons are also complicated by the fact that the bar for to break even at the box office is much higher for "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One," which (thanks largely to the COVID-19 pandemic) had an eye-watering $290 million budget, compared to $190 million for "Mission: Impossible – Fallout." The odds don't look great, but the Impossible Mission Force is no stranger to difficult odds.

Ethan Hunt and the IMF have saved the world numerous times, from threats ranging from bioweapons and nuclear bombs to ... other bioweapons and different nuclear bombs. And the world has richly rewarded the "Mission: Impossible" franchise in return; of the $3.57 billion grossed by the first six movies in the franchise, $2.41 billion came from ticket sales outside of North America. 

The globe-trotting exploits of Hunt and his crew have other advantages beyond appealing to international audiences. According to This is Money, the last three "Mission: Impossible" movies have netted Paramount Pictures £84.5 million ($110 million) in tax reimbursements from the UK Film Tax Relief scheme, which awards cash rebates of up to 25% on qualifying UK expenditure. Other countries also offer tax incentives to entice big U.S. productions like "Mission: Impossible" to film on their shores.

Between the bloated budget and slightly underwhelming domestic box office returns for "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One," the two possible saviors of the movie would be strong international ticket sales and long legs. It's off to a great start on the first point, and star Tom Cruise has already scored an astonishing success on the second front this past year with "Top Gun: Maverick," which remained in theaters for months after its release on home media and ultimately grossed $1.495 billion worldwide.

"Dead Reckoning Part One" is unlikely to pull off a miracle on that scale, but if it follows a similar pattern to "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" it should end up somewhere in the $800-900 million worldwide range, with potential to crack the $1 billion milestone.