Tom Cruise c. James Bond: Why Ethan Hunt can have the biggest franchise

Long before "Star Wars" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and well before "Jurbadic Park" or the worlds of comics, James Bond films invented the film franchise. Still, as strong as 007 remains, "M: I" can be his equal in North America.

"Mission: Impossible – Fallout" could be the final version of the summer to open at $ 75 million or more. It's a little more than the preliminary screenings, but his critics are the best of all the studio releases this summer – almost as good as "Black Panther" earlier this year.

Lower estimates are based on $ 62 million. Impossible – Rogue Nation "the same weekend three years ago (like all the numbers here, adjusted for 2018 ticket prices.) Paramount itself is low-level with a prediction of $ 50 million, which can be

This $ 65 million consensus is probably small, but perhaps more extraordinary is that Tom Cruise's espionage-thriller franchise than James Bond

"Dr. No "

Sounding like a heretic, Bond films were released in 1962, reaching their peak in the mid-1960s with" Goldfinger "and" Thunderball ", both of which brought in more than $ 600 million. At the time, most major hits were limited epics or musicals such as "Ben-Hur" or "The Sound of Music."

Bond became the prototype of modern blockbusters and inspired a series of ] espionage movies and TV shows, including "Mission: Impossible." For the adaptation of the feature, the story has gone from a set of ################################################################################### 39 agents to a charismatic action hero similar to Bond.From the beginning, the franchise openly worked to compete with Bond's films, but with a more American cast and feel.

The Cruise of 56 years is older than most Bond incarnations, but he followed the pace Roger Moore made his last effort at 58; Daniel Craig was the youngest at 47; Sean Connery has played Bond seven times from 32 to 53 years. Cruise is four years younger than John Wayne when he did "True Grit", nine years more at Brando when he did "The Godfather", and 11 years older than Patton of George C. Scott's "Fallout" is # 39; one of the most expensive movies of the summer (announced budget of $ 178 million). This falls shy "Specter" (about $ 250 million), but at this level he needs Bondian raw numbers. That seems quite possible, and then some; with "Fallout", Ethan Hunt could prove to be equal or better than Bond.

On average, "M: I" Beats Bond

This is the least important statistic here, but even though Bond reached its peak at the time of Sean Connery, the 25 Bond movies cost an average of $ 242 million. The five "M: I" titles average $ 281 million. So on this basis, "M: I" is worth Bond.

Since "MI" started, it has been in advance

The 1996-2015 "M: I" films produced $ 1.405 billion in North America, for an average of $ 281 million per film. During this period, there have been seven Bond films, with gross production of $ 1.753 billion and an average of $ 250 million per film. Advantage, "M: I."

Daniel Craig, "Skyfall"

Productio / Kobal / REX / Shutterstock

Tom Cruise vs. Daniel Craig, Round 1

The mandate of Daniel Craig 007 led to an uptick for the series, to the point where his presence is considered essential. But maybe not as much as Cruise to "M: I": Craig's average across four "Bond" movies is $ 251 million. Advantage, Ethan Hunt

Tom Cruise vs. Daniel Craig, Round 2

There were three titles "M.I." in the 21st century, with an average of $ 218 million. Craig made four Bond films during this period, averaging $ 251 million. (Credit: "Skyfall", which outperformed $ 351 million.)

"M.I." Comes with lower budgets

"M: I" is an established franchise, but not Bondian in terms of integrated anticipation. Bond's recent films were November opener, which means that they benefited from the Thanksgiving counter, and maybe even Christmas sales. The three most recent bonds opened between $ 75 million and $ 102 million, with ultimate national totals of 2.5 to 3.5 times higher than these numbers.

The titles "M: I" are a bit more complicated. Of the three most recent, one ("Ghost Protocol") had an initial week limited to IMAX. But his first 10 days (all before Christmas) again led to a multiple of 3.4. "Rogue Nation" had a multiple of 3.5. Of the three, only the 2006 edition dropped to 2.8

This increase suggests two things: Resistance to Tom Cruise (which has a history of generating antipathy) and less of a problem. engagement of the audience to the franchise. But the public response seems to overcome these disadvantages – and given the enthusiastic critical response, we've seen "Fallout" propelled to new heights.

"Mission: Impossible – Fallout"

Cinemascores, Metacritic Returns "M: I" the Edge

The last three entries "M: I" ranged from 73 to 86 in the Metacritic scores. The last four Bonds have ranged from 58 to 81. "M: I" gets preference from critics

The four recent Bonds have received Cinemascores from A, two A-, a B-. "M: I" received three at A-. A slight advantage for "M: I".

Bond Rules Overseas

No contest here. Each of the last four has made between $ 500 million and $ 900 million international, with "Spectrum" the largest share at 77%. The last two "M: I" movies exceeded $ 500 million, with a share of 70%

which explains why Bond's films cost about $ 100 million more than "M: I" movies. Both series are very successful, but the extra revenues overseas as well as the expectations for serial production value mean more expenses.

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