LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Tom Cruise’s ever-lasting appetite to entertain audiences is about to put another dent in the sky as the 61-year-old global icon returns with a seventh installment in the ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise. The film is broken into two parts with the first part releasing on July 12, 2023, named ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1’ which director Christopher McQuarrie had explained to be a “navigational term which is a metaphor for Ethan Hunt and the people around him.” There is no confirmation that the two parts releasing within a gap of one year are the franchise’s last but one thing is confirmed — 'Dead Reckoning' is the costliest film in the 'Mission Impossible' franchise.

Cruise has managed to up the ante with every film he stars in and with the latest endeavor, the global movie star has surpassed a career of financially heavy-duty films. With life-threatening stunts, global locations, heavy use of technology, impeccable production design, and a stellar star cast, ‘Dead Reckoning’ has beaten its predecessor, ‘Mission: Impossible - Fallout’ to become Tom Cruise’s most expensive film to date.

What was ‘Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning’ budget?

The monstrosity of the franchise was bound to shoot the budget up by some margin but 'Dead Reckoning' took almost $290 million to make. To put this into perspective, 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' took close to $180 million to make, in no way near to the cost of the new 'Mission Impossible' film. Paramount and Skydance media shouldered a mammoth budget and some unforeseen expenses, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was expected to begin shooting in Italy in February 2020 but as the number of cases spiked, the production was moved to Rome.

However, that didn’t last long as the world went into lockdown, and production was completely halted on the film. The complexity of mounting an international production rained heavily on the film as the costs shot up with Cruise and director McQuarrie later asking more money from Paramount to finish the film. Eventually after a string of two long years, the cost came out to be $290, making it the most expensive 'Mission Impossible' film in the franchise.

'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning' on course for big Box Office opening

It’s a no-brainer that the action that the franchise offers is unmatched. The death-defying, gravity-challenging, unthinkable, and long stunts that shake the core of the common man are a mere drill for Tom Cruise to complete. And these stunts rake in viewers and money for the franchise.

The Hollywood Reporter recently projected ‘Dead Reckoning’ to make $90 million at the domestic box office in its first five days. This will be the franchise’s best opening ever and with Cruise organizing the world premieres in Rome and London, the film is expected to fly higher than its predecessors. Box office pundits believe the audiences view the new 'Mission Impossible' film as a sort of spiritual sequel to ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ which made $1.5 billion for Paramount and Skydance. Similarly, ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ is expected to outperform all of Tom Cruise’s past films and set a record to beat for the second part next year.