‘Mission: Impossible: Fallout.’
Testament to the undimmed star power of Tom Cruise, the sixth edition of the 22-year-old Mission: Impossible franchise dominated ticket sales around the world last weekend.
Paramount Pictures/Skydance’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout smashed opening records for the franchise in Australia and reigned in its second weekend in the US and other markets.
In Australia the business was also buoyed by the US drama The Wife and Korean action-fantasy Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, while Spanish drama Summer 1993 opened respectably on limited screens.
The top 20 titles harvested $13.9 million, up just 2.2 per cent on the previous weekend according to Numero. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible – Fall Out grabbed $6.2 million on 616 screens and $6.7 million with previews, a market share of 45 per cent. That was 57 per cent bigger than the opening of Ghost Protocol and 26 per cent above Rogue Nation.
The action adventure co-starring Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Monaghan fetched $US35.3 million in the US, easily beating Disney’s Christopher Robin, which opened with $US24.5 million. The latter, a live action fantasy which features Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Mark Gatiss, Jim Cummings and Chris O’Dowd, starts previewing here on August 31.
The Ethan Hunt saga has rustled up $124.8 million in the US and $205 million internationally, in the latter tracking 21 per cent ahead of Rogue Nation.
Relegated to second place after two weekends on top, Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again whistled up nearly $2.5 million, dropping by a reasonable 37 cent. The musical comedy directed by Ole Parker has banked $16.5 million in Oz and $230.5 million worldwide.
Sony Pictures’ The Equalizer 2 raked in $855,000 in its third weekend, tumbling by 54 per cent. The thriller starring Denzel Washington has scored $7.2 million, eclipsing the $6.6 million lifetime total of the original.
Disney/Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp bagged $580,000 in its fifth weekend, advancing to $18.8 million. The superhero adventure directed by Peyton Reed has hauled in $195.5 million in the US and $230.8 million in the rest of the world for a global total of $426.3 million: not bad, but among the Marvel Comic Universe’s lesser lights.
Directed by Swede Björn Runge, The Wife registered $531,000 from 158 screens and $600,000 with previews for Icon. Word-of-mouth should ensure a leggy run for the drama about a Nobel Prize-winning author (Jonathan Pryce) and his spouse (Glenn Close).
The Breaker Upperers, the Kiwi comedy directed, written and starring Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami, pocketed $442,000 in its second weekend, down 38 per cent, generating a tidy $1.55 million for Madman Entertainment.
Disney/Pixar’s blockbuster Incredibles 2 advanced to $44.6 million after making $411,000 in its eighth frame. The Brad Bird-directed comedy has amassed $1.047 billion worldwide: $583 million domestic and $464 million internationally.
Universal/Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom reached $35 million after minting $344,000 in its seventh outing. The action adventure directed by JA Bayona has earned $405.6 million in the US and $854.5 million in the rest of the world for a towering total of $1.26 billion.
Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Weekend drew $303,000 in its sixth weekend, raising the total to $18 million. Drac and his pack have captured $136.4 million in the US and $202.3 million from international markets.
Universal’s Skyscraper fell by 56 per cent to $302,000 in its fourth weekend. The action adventure starring Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell and Chin Han has taken a fair $7.1 million.
Directed by Kim Yong-hwa, Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, which follows the journey of three afterlife guardians and deceased soul Su-hong as they seek reincarnation, conjured up $209,000 on 34 screens and $227,000 with previews for China Lion Film.
Winner of the best first feature award at the Berlin Film Festival, Carla Simón’s semi-autobiographical Summer 1993, the tale of an orphaned six-year-old girl who is sent to live with her aunt and uncle, generated $64,000 on 14 screens and $137,000 including festival screenings for Palace.
Cinema Nova general manager Kristian Connelly was happy with the debuts of The Wife and Summer 1993 but laments a lack of continuity in upscale titles, observing: “The current stop-start nature of the number of new openers can cause audiences to fall out of the habit of visiting the cinema, requiring far greater work to entice them back when there is a plethora of new releases.”