Tom Cruise’s death-defying superspy Ethan Hunt is the face that made the Mission: Impossible film series even more successful than the original 1966 TV series from Bruce Geller. And yet, now it feels like he himself is the one to doom the saga that saw a tremendous boost in its overall media franchise value with his film series.
As one screenwriter recently commented on the lore, per Variety,
Its greatest strength is Tom running, but what happens when Tom can’t run anymore?
As in: If Cruise himself were to leave the franchise, then will it be able to move forward? That question is even more urgent now that the only thing that remains after the latest installment from the lore, The Final Reckoning, is the saga’s current dismal scores. For one, this latest film had a gargantuan budget of $400 million, but managed to recoup a little over its investment with its worldwide box office gross of only $597.7 million (via The Numbers).
Plus, since reports have it that the actor will be concluding his run as Hunt in The Final Reckoning, it means that the next Mission film will most likely be a Cruise-free one. And that, arguably enough, is something that just won’t do. As another top executive further emphasized about the actor:
He is the franchise.
So if the saga were to continue without Cruise, the result would most probably be a debacle? Well, from what it seems like, it feels like Cruise himself has doomed the M:I lore.
Execs Feel Mission: Impossible Will Not Survive Without Tom Cruise
While Tom Cruise might as well be accepted as the heart and soul of the Mission: Impossible saga, he can’t really run forever as Ethan Hunt. Not to mention, there’s only so long that a franchise can victoriously run for when it’s hung on a single actor. That’s a fact that even marketing executives are finding unable to defy.
Per Variety, a top executive said on the matter about the once-fan-beloved action-adventure lore,
That franchise is suffering from a generational divide. It was an older-skewing audience.
A marketing executive, in the meantime, went on to emphasize that there might not be “much equity left” in a saga that’s practically run by one man – and that too one who already appears to have confirmed his departure. The exec said,
It’s tough when you have a franchise hung on a single actor. I’m just not sure how much equity there’s left in that.
With that being put out there, it’s worth noting that the final movie has left the lore deep in the red, as it didn’t even manage to make twice the amount invested in its production budget at the global box office. That acknowledged, so far, its future seems as unlikely and in the farther end of the deep as ever.
From Blockbuster Glory to Box Office Struggles: The Mission: Impossible Journey
While the latest box office scores with The Final Reckoning are disappointing, the beginning of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible saga was barely this disapproving. If anything, it was a fascinating affair as the world saw a film series capture the secret rendezvous and escapades of Ethan Hunt, an Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent, to stop an enemy force and prevent an impending global disaster.
Cruise further added stars to his layered portrayal of the character by performing most of his death-defying stunts on his own, irrespective of how long it would take him and however many injuries it might leave him with. With his excellence, coupled with the mesmerizing storylines, the saga proved to be a blockbuster masterpiece at the start.
However, it seems like, with time, things really got out of hand. For one, the films really went from having a minimal budget of $80 million for the first flick to an earth-shattering one of $400 million for the final film. The box office, on the other hand, also went from a sweet $457.6 million for the first movie to an all-time high of $786.6 million for the sixth film to a steep decline with only $597.7 million for its final flick despite its monumental budget.
Here’s a look at the Mission: Impossible films’ performance over the years (per The Numbers):
| S. No. | Title | Production Budget | Opening Weekend | Domestic Box Office | Worldwide Box Office | IMDb Score | RT Tomatometer Score | RT Popcornmeter Score | Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mission: Impossible (1996) | $80 million | $45.4 million | $180.9 million | $457.7 million | 7.2 / 10 | 67% | 71% | Netflix / Prime Video |
| 2. | Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) | $120 million | $57.8 million | $215.4 million | $549.5 million | 6.1 / 10 | 57% | 42% | Netflix / Prime Video |
| 3. | Mission: Impossible III (2006) | $150 million | $47.7 million | $133.5 million | $399.3 million | 6.9 / 10 | 73% | 69% | Netflix / Prime Video |
| 4. | Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011) | $145 million | $12.7 million | $209.4 million | $694.7 million | 7.4 / 10 | 94% | 76% | Netflix / Prime Video |
| 5. | Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015) | $150 million | $55.5 million | $195 million | $688.8 million | 7.4 / 10 | 94% | 87% | Netflix / Prime Video |
| 6. | Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018) | $178 million | $61.2 million | $220 million | $786.6 million | 7.7 / 10 | 98% | 89% | Netflix / Prime Video |
| 7. | Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) | $290 million | $54.6 million | $172.6 million | $565.7 million | 7.6 / 10 | 96% | 94% | Prime Video |
| 8. | Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (2025) | $400 million | $64 million | $197.4 million | $597.7 million | 7.3 / 10 | 80% | 88% | Prime Video |
Judging from all these numbers, it’s clear that the Mission: Impossible saga has come a long way since its early days back in the 1990s. While it has managed to garner significant critical and general acclaim over the years, the final concluding flick in the film series, unfortunately, didn’t have the most exceptional performance of them all.
That being said, if the action-thriller lore couldn’t keep up its performance even while Cruise was on board, will it really be able to victoriously continue its run without the actor involved? That seems more unlikely than ever in the current situation, though only time can truthfully answer that question.
What’s your take on this? Do you think the M:I franchise can survive even without Cruise heading it? Even more so, do you feel like the saga can continue to thrive in the entertainment industry, or that its numbered days have finally come to an end? Make sure to let us know your thoughts and opinions on this in the comments section below!
