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Written by Knight Ridder
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Wednesday, 10 May 2006 |
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Tom Cruise’s real mission impossible was selling a movie whose star spent the last year jumping on couches.
“Mission: Impossible III,” in which Cruise returns as agent Ethan Hunt, earned an estimated $48 million at the box office this weekend — finishing No. 1 — but well below expectations.
Paramount Pictures said Sunday it was not disappointed. The $150 million picture earned an additional $70 million overseas, and is expected to be profitable.
But domestic box office had been widely projected at $60 million-$75 million, which allowing for increased ticket prices would have been in the same range as the first two “M:I” films.
“Mission: Impossible” opened in May 1996 with $45.4 million, and “Mission: Impossible II” in May 2000 with $57.8 million.
Speculation immediately began on whether Cruise had drawn attention away from the film with his bizarre behavior, which has included: jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch, blasting Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants, arguing with “Today” show host Matt Lauer and micromanaging the pregnancy of his fiancee Katie Holmes.
“Obviously, when the press is talking about the personal life of the star, by definition it’s not talking about the movie,” said Rob Moore, head of worldwide marketing and distribution for Paramount.
But Moore said “Mission: Impossible III” did as well as comparable action films like “Batman Returns,” and predicted it will have a long box office life.
The Chicago Tribune quoted editors of several celebrity magazines saying Cruise had become less appealing _ with some saying the longtime hunk was now a turnoff to women.
The newspaper said Cruise’s “Q” score, a general evaluation of a celebrity’s likability, had slipped from 30 percent to 19 percent.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of the trade group Exhibitor Relations, said the film “did very well. Its only problem was that it was measured against even higher expectations.”
He allowed, however, that Cruise’s behavior could have been a factor in the film’s disappointing showing. “It can become problematic when public perception of your star is called into question,” he said. “Your hope is that the public will separate that persona from the character on screen.” | Only registered users can write comments.
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