After the surprisingly humble performance of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning in 2023, Tom Cruise’s immediate follow-up, The Final Reckoning, reached a series best with Thursday preview totals at the box office. Ethan Hunt’s latest daredevil adventure would earn $8 million in Thursday night early previews, according to Deadline. This start bests Dead Reckoning‘s $7 million early previews and Mission: Impossible – Fallout‘s $6 million early previews. With IMAX screens and other premium theaters, Final Reckoning is being estimated to take in $75 million to $85 million over four days with the Memorial Day holiday.
The bigger story so far this weekend is Cruise’s second bout with Lilo & Stitch. Cruise would face off against the original animated Disney movie back in 2002 with his Minority Report, but would barely come out ahead. This time, Lilo & Stitch emerges as the victor of the two with the live-action remake taking in a whopping $14 million for the early Thursday totals. School has just let out for a lot of kids, so families are possibly ready to flock to theaters for a reimagining of the past Disney hit. This $14 million opening could possibly be a new record for Thursday previews on the Memorial Day weekend. Analysts are predicting the alien to fly high with a $150 million weekend.
Both films are being received well by critics with an aggregate rating of 80% for Mission: Impossible and 72% for Lilo & Stitch. Disney is confident that Lilo & Stitch will do well enough to warrant a sequel, as Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman said, “It feels like it’s going to work very well, and it’s the kind of property that lends itself to more.” Meanwhile, our Chris Bumbray enjoyed Final Reckoning, even if it did pale in comparison to its predecessors, saying in his review, “It can’t be denied that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning definitely feels overstuffed at times. […] If this is the end for the IMF, one can never say Cruise didn’t give this franchise his all, and this ends it on a satisfying note. If it falls slightly short of the others, it’s simply because the bar has been set so high.”
