If setting the ultimate ticket booth touchstone is any indication, 2018 is indeed the year of the blockbuster. A little under two weeks ago, the domestic box office crossed the $6 billion threshold, making June 27th the earliest it’s ever reached that total.
What with Black Panther becoming the first African-American film to earn more than $1 billion, Avengers: Infinity War only the fourth film to ever conquer the elusive $2 billion plateau, and Incredibles 2 opening to an unprecedented $182 million – the largest debut for an animated feature of all-time, mind you – all before we reached the halfway point, the new benchmark isn’t all that surprising.
Nonetheless, should 2018 continue at this torrid pace – we’re tracking 9.4% higher than at this time last year – the total box office gross should, once again, be on the upswing, seeing as 2017 failed to keep the forward momentum going.
Regardless, because Ant-Man and the Wasp kicked off July to the tune of $161 million globally and Mission: Impossible – Fallout is still to come this month, bucking the trend shouldn’t be an issue, especially when considering the overwhelmingly positive initial response to the latter.
That’s right, first reactions to the sixth Mission: Impossible installment are here, and I’m enthusiastic to report that they’re compellingly favorable. Steven Weintraub of Collider calls Fallout a “fantastic movie” with an “insane” amount of action and “edge of your seat holy shit moments.” Erik Davis, meanwhile, the managing editor of Fandango, echoed Weintraub’s “fantastic” sentiment, before adding “this move entertains you in every which way” and claiming it’s his favorite film of the summer.
Happy to report #MissionImpossibleFallout is a fantastic movie that's absolutely loaded with *insane* action and edge of your seat holy shit moments. Not sure how @TomCruise keeps raising the bar but I'm so happy he does. The bathroom fight scene alone is worth price of admission pic.twitter.com/FPhnz37VCK
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) July 9, 2018
Just walked out of #MissionImpossibleFallout, which is absolutely fantastic. This movie entertains you in every which way – incredible action sequences, nail-biting suspense & hands down the series best finale yet. My favorite movie of the summer right there – loved every second pic.twitter.com/hWUnI7P2jQ
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) July 9, 2018
#MissionImpossibleFallout ça joue dans la même cour que #RogueNation, c’est dire le gros niveau de l’ensemble. Facile mon blockbuster préféré de 2018 so far. Great job @chrismcquarrie & @TomCruise ! 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/xwMMjfAGZI
— Maximilien PIERRETTE ⚡️ (@maxp26) July 9, 2018
Scheduled for release late this month, Mission: Impossible – Fallout will reunite Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) with his crackpot companions on July 27th. And after reading these reactions, we can hardly wait to see it.
