Tom Cruise Back On Top After Huge Opening Weekend For Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ has hauled in a massive $121 million (£77 million) on its opening weekend.

The Tom Cruise actioner, in which he reprises his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt, coined $56 million (£35.9 million) in the US and another $65 million around the world in a solid box office performance.

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It was the best opening weekend figure for any of the movies in the five movie old franchise.

And it’s also put Cruise back on top of the box office after a spell of – by his standards – less successful movie jaunts in recent years.

The hugely budgeted 'Edge of Tomorrow’ ($178 million - £114 million), opened to a worryingly low $20.1 million (£12.8 million) in the US.

Luckily it picked up over the following weeks and overseas, but with an eventual haul of $369 million (£236 million), it was not a runaway success.

Prior to that, sci-fi actioner 'Oblivion’ also underperformed, making $286 million (£183 million) worldwide, not an arresting sum considering the billion-busting blockbusters of recent years.

'Jack Reacher’ in 2012, though featuring a much lower $60 million budget, made back $218 million (£139 million), not a huge amount when the colossal costs of marketing, advertising and press are factored in.

But since the first instalment in 1996, the ’M:I’ movies have always brought home the bacon for Cruise.

The last movie, 'Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’, made the most of all, coining in an impressive $694.7 million (£445.7 million) during its run.

In all, the movies, directed by a team of sterling directors including Brian de Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird and the most recent, Christopher McQuarrie, have made $2.217 billion (£1.42 billion) in all at the worldwide box office.

Image credits: Paramount/Universal Pictures