It doesn’t matter how much you love cinema, you’re never going to love it anywhere near as much Tom Cruise. However, when it comes to all-out appreciation for the IMAX format, Christopher Nolan might just have him beat.
That shared adulation for the premium viewing experience is threatening to cause an uproar, though, after reports emerged that Cruise had embarked upon a one-man crusade to try and sway distributors from playing Nolan’s Oppenheimer in IMAX theaters for three straight weeks, with the actor’s own Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One releasing just nine days beforehand.
Of course, we’ve been waiting for his seventh outing as Ethan Hunt for what feels like forever already, but based on the fact Top Gun: Maverick made well over $100 million from IMAX showings, you can see why he wants a piece of that pie. And yet, Paramount continues to keep shooting itself in the foot when it comes to scheduling its biggest blockbusters.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is one of the best-reviewed fantasies in a long time, but it barely made it past $200 million globally after being programmed opposite John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Meanwhile, next weekend’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Flash on either side of it, and even Dead Reckoning has to contend with both Oppenheimer and Barbie.
Looking forward, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem needs to square off with Haunted Mansion, Meg 2: The Trench, and Blue Beetle, while Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon lands among plenty of heated R-rated competition including Kraven the Hunter, Exorcist: The Believer, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Saw X.
Dead Reckoning is going to make a fortune, but Paramount may have nobody to blame but itself if 2023 proves to be a lackluster year overall at the box office.
