By Dve McNary
LOS ANGELES, Aug, 2 (Variety.com) - Tom Cruise's "Mission:
Impossible -- Rogue Nation" dominated the U.S. box office this
weekend with an impressive $56 million at 3,956 locations.
The Paramount/Skydance tentpole generated $20.3 million at
the Friday box office, setting an opening day mark for the
sturdy franchise - and signaling that Cruise still carries
plenty of star power. Saturday's total hit $19.7 million.
The launch of "Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation" had been
on track for an opening weekend of $40 million, according to
recent studio estimates.
The fifth installment in the series, written and directed by
Chris McQuarrie, finds Cruise facing off against a squad of
special agents known as the Syndicate. Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner
and Rebecca Ferguson also star.
The first four "Mission: Impossible" films have grossed over
$2 billion. In 2011, "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol"
pulled in $209 million in the U.S. and $485 million
internationally.
"Rogue Nation" took in more than triple the Friday-Sunday
total of New Line's "Vacation" reboot, which pulled in $14.9
million in 3,411 locations. The comedy, which launched
Wednesday, has grossed $21.2 million in five days -- below
recent forecasts of $30 million.
Still, the R-rated "Vacation" is a low-risk entry for New
Line, given its $31 million budget. Ed Helms, Christina
Applegate, Leslie Mann and Chris Hemsworth star. It generated an
A- Cinemascore among audiences under 25.
Disney/Marvel's third weekend of "Ant-Man" led the holdovers
with $12.6 million at 3,322 sites for a $132.1 million domestic
total. Universal's fourth weekend of "Minions" followed with
$12.2 million at 3,575 locations to lift its 24-day cumulative
total to $287.3 million.
Sony's second weekend of Adam Sandler's "Pixels" showed only
moderate traction as the comedy slid 57% to $10.4 million at
3,725 theaters, bringing the 10-day total to $45.6 million.
A24's "The End of the Tour," which stars Jason Segel as
David Foster Wallace and Jesse Eisenberg as the reporter tasked
with profiling the author, launched impressively with $126,459
in four locations.
The overall box office for the weekend is down significantly
compared with the same weekend a year ago when Disney/Marvel's
"Guardians of the Galaxy" opened with a stunning $94.3 million
weekend.