Mission Impossible 7 Made a Fatal Mistake Trying to Compete with Barbenheimer
The film might have performed way better, had it not been for the poor marketing strategy.
After the premiere-starved post-Covid years, 2023 has seen an influx of top-tier releases that have resuscitated the movie industry. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantimania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Little Mermaid, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – these are just a few that have shown in theaters so far, with many more premieres to go.
Among these titles, Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer made the biggest splashes in 2023, amassing a jaw-dropping $2.4 billion at the box office together. Released on the same day, the two films were collectively dubbed Barbenheimer – a phenomenon that had built up enormous anticipation among viewers. Evidently, it was a mistake on the behalf of the Mission: Impossible producers to release the seventh installment of the beloved action franchise alongside the two films.
New Adventures of the Beloved Agent
Continuing the saga of Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, the first part of Dead Reckoning follows him on a quest to find and destroy a powerful AI tool capable of disrupting the world's defenses and financial mechanisms, making it coveted by nearly every government on the planet. As Ethan's mission progresses, he must face more and more people from his past who won't let him go just yet.
The movie is an impressive 164 minutes long and is full of action, spy drama and fighting.
Unfortunate Timing
Released on July 12th, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One preceded Barbie and Oppenhimer by only nine days. While Christopher McQuarrie's film performed perfectly well during the opening week, the gap wasn't enough to provide it with a solid start. Thus, when immensely hyped Barbie and Oppenheimer hit theaters, Mission: Impossible 7 didn't stand a chance and got lost in their shadows. As a result, it grossed some $568 million over its theatrical run, becoming only the eighth highest-grossing premiere of 2023.
Given that Mission: Impossible is one of the biggest and most successful film franchises, that is a disgrace. For instance, the previous installment made a whopping $792 million on a 178 million budget. Fortunately, the seventh film has made a nice sum, but it was still a mistake to release it alongside Barbenheimer.