Powered by the best reviews of any big-budget movie this summer, Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” opened to a new high for the franchise over the weekend.
The sixth entry in the 22-year-old film series, based on a 52-year-old television show, opened to an estimated $61.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to Viacom Inc.’s VIA, +2.41% Paramount Pictures, which released it.
Though far from the $100 million-plus openings of some superhero films, the latest “Mission” topped the last entry in the series, “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation,” which made its debut to $55.5 million in 2015. Prior movies typically opened between $45.4 million and $57.8 million, putting “Fallout” roughly in line with them when accounting for rising ticket prices.
The strong start for a new entry in one of Paramount’s few successful franchises provides a much-needed boost for the studio, which has been struggling at the box office for the past few years. It also had a hit with April’s surprise horror sensation, “A Quiet Place.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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