Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible’ trying to break ‘Oppenheimer’ IMAX exclusivity

Hayley Atwell, left, and Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One’
| Photo Credit: Christian Black

While fans are awaiting the clash of Oppenheimer with Barbie when both films hit theatres on July 21, it looks like the Christopher Nolan film is actually competing with Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One which opens ten days earlier on July 12. According to an article on Puck, Cruise is unhappy with his film losing key IMAX screens to Oppenheimer.

This comes after Oppenheimer booked all IMAX screens in the US for its first three weeks of release as part of an exclusive deal that leaves only a week window for Cruise’s latest MI film that also has to compete with Barbie. 

The report also claims that Cruise has personally called rival studio executives and exhibitors hoping to turn the tide by convincing them to relinquish PLF (premium large-format) screens from playing Oppenheimer to his latest outing. IMAX screens, apart from experience, also come with an upcharge that can add millions to the box office collection of a film. 

ALSO READ: Christopher Nolan earns his first R rating for ‘Oppenheimer’ since ‘Insomnia’ 20 years ago

Oppenheimer, Nolan’s first film for Universal after parting ways with longtime partner Warner Bros., was shot entirely on IMAX large-format cameras. The race for the summer release window isn’t new but reports suggest that this year’s summer is the first major one after the lockdowns and a slew of big releases have already been planned. Haunted Mansion, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Meg 2: The Trench, and Gran Turismo are all slated to release just within a month of MI’s release. It remains to be seen how these films will perform at the box office and eat into the profits of each other.