Mission: Impossible III Falls Short at Box Office

In today's moviegoing culture, nothing is ever a guarantee and according the weekend box office receipts, Paramount's big action vehicle Mission: Impossible III failed to deliver the monetary goods. Mission: Impossible III, starring and produced by Tom Cruise, did lay claim to the top spot at the weekend box office, raking in approximately $48 million, but the still large take fell short of expected $60 million mark many industry insiders were predicting.

As MTV reveals, the numbers for Mission: Impossible III were disappointed based on the performance of the second Mission Impossible installment, directed by John Woo, "While the film pulled in solid first-week earnings, the $48 million take was less than what the film was expected to earn, and nearly $10 million shy of the opening-weekend take of Mission: Impossible II."

The underachieving performance of Mission: Impossible III has led many critics to speculate on why the film didn't break the bank, with some claiming the recent publicity antics and overexposure of Tom Cruise may be a direct correlation to the film's weaker opening weekend take at the box office. As of late, though, Paramount head of worldwide marketing and distribution, Rob Moore downplayed such claims to People, revealing, "There's no question it concerns us if the press is writing about things other than the movie. If people are writing about his personal life, then by definition, they're not writing about the movie."

However, the L.A. Times reports the appeal of Tom Cruise remains strong with female moviegoers, "Although analysts had speculated that Cruise's appeal to women was waning, the studio said 44% of the audience was female, nearly matching the composition of the earlier 'Mission: Impossible' films. A survey by online ticket seller Fandango said women rated it more highly than men."

Despite the disappointing North American box office take this weekend, Mission Impossible III faired much better overseas, as reported by Reuters, "After a middling $48 million bow in North America, 'Mission: Impossible III' bowed robustly overseas with estimated weekend sales of $70.3 million from 57 territories. The Tom Cruise thriller did particularly well in South Korea ($10.6 million vs. $2 million for 'Mission 2'), the U.K. ($10.1 million vs $6.8 million), France ($6 million for both) and Mexico ($3 million vs $2.5 million)."

Director Barry Sonnenfeld's RV, Sony's family comedy starring Robin Williams took second splace at the weekend box office, hauling in an estimated $11 million, while director Courtney Solomon's An American Haunting from Freestyle Releasing garnered third place with approximately $6.4 million in weekend receipts.

According to the Chicago Tribune, here's a look at the weekend box office numbers:

Mission: Impossible III $48
RV $11.1
An American Haunting $6.4
Stick It $5.5
United 93 $5.2
Ice Age: The Meltdown $4
Silent Hill $3.9
Scary Movie 4 $3.8
Akeelah and the Bee $3.4
Hoot $3.4

[Additional Sources: MTV, People, L.A. Times, Reuters, Chicago Tribune]