Los Angles - Tom Cruise's latest,
"Mission: Impossible -- Fallout," is on its way to a No. 1 debut
at the North American box office with an estimated $59 million (about R777 578 700,00).
Should predictions hold, Paramount's sixth installment of
the franchise will finish on the upper end of recent forecasts,
which ranged from $50 million to $65 million at 4,386 sites. It
will come out ahead of its predecessor "Mission: Impossible --
Rogue Nation," which debuted to $55 million in 2015, and also
mark a franchise best. "Rogue Nation" went on to gross $682
million worldwide.
Christopher McQuarrie directed "Mission: Impossible --
Fallout," after having directed "Rogue Nation." He also wrote
the script for "Fallout." The movie is produced and financed by
Paramount and partner Skydance Productions, headed by David
Ellison. Cruise is a producer along with McQuarrie, J.J. Abrams
and Jake Myers. Exec producers are Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and
Don Granger.
Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin,
Michelle Monaghan, and Sean Harris are reprising their roles
from previous films, while Cavill, Vanessa Kirby, and Sian
Brooke are joining the cast. The franchise is based on the TV
series that ran from 1966 to 1973.
"Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" is heading for second place
with $15 million in its sophomore weekend. The sequel film from
Universal has so far earned $125 million globally, including
$60.2 million from domestic sites. Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth,
Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Walters,
Meryl Streep, and Stellan Skarsgard reprise their roles from the
original film, with Lily James, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Alexa
Davies, Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner, and Josh Dylan joining the
cast.
Sony's "The Equalizer 2" should snag third place also in its
second frame with $13.65 million. The Denzel Washington-starrer
has earned $54 million domestically since its debut, and
outstripped its predecessor in its opening weekend by $2
million.
Animated threequel "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation"
is hoping to bring in another $12.4 million in its third frame,
which would bring its domestic total to around $119 million. The
Sony film, which has outpaced its predecessors at the box
office, continues to resonate with audiences, which have spent
around $237 million on it globally.
"Teen Titans Go! to the Movies" should earn around $11
million in its debut this weekend. The Warner Bros. film
features the voice talents of the original TV series cast for
the main superheroes, along with Will Arnett as villain Slade,
Kristen Bell as Jade Wilson, and Nicolas Cage as Superman.
Series developers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath wrote the
script, with Peter Rida Michail and Horvath directing. The film
has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 89% and received a B+
CinemaScore.
Elsewhere, Lionsgate's "Blindspotting" grossed an estimated
$468,000 on Friday at 523 North American locations in a limited
opening. The film is predicted to earn $1.3 million through the
weekend. Directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada, "Blindspotting" was
written by and stars Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs as two
friends who struggle to stay on a peaceful path.