'Mission: Impossible' climbs to No. 1, 'Vacation' is a bust
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The stakes may be high for Ethan Hunt and his team in "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," but it was hardly impossible for the Tom Cruise pic to conquer the box office.
The fifth installment in the nearly 20-year-old film series has earned $56 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Opening weekend audiences were 62 percent male and 81 percent over the age of 25.
It's the second-highest opening for a "Mission" film since "Mission Impossible II" took in $57.8 million over Memorial Day weekend in 2000. Rentrak's Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said Cruise is to credit for making these films one of the longest-running viable franchises on the market.
"He created a new Tom Cruise in the minds of audiences.