Mission: Impossible vs Marvel: Can Tom Cruise Finally Take Back the Box Office Throne? (Photo Credit – Instagram/Prime Video)
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Tom Cruise returns to the big screen to close out the crucial chapter of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and quite possibly to “rescue” the theatrical business stateside and abroad. After seven years in production alongside its predecessor, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning faces box office pressure that makes its title feel more literal than narrative. The stakes are high — not just in North America but worldwide — as Cruise and Paramount once again set their sights on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s global earnings.
Despite being the highest-grossing film series of all time, the MCU, and Marvel in general, have been repeatedly defeated at the box office by Mission: Impossible. In fact, until its third billion-dollar flick, the MCU had not beaten the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) in ticket admissions.
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Going back to 2000, when Mission: Impossible II registered itself as the 21st century’s first reigning champion at the global box office with $547 million (according to Box Office Mojo), Marvel maintained a low profile, as 21st Century Fox’s X-Men trailed behind with $296 million for a ninth-place finish.
The first collision between Marvel Cinematic Universe and MI occurred in 2011 when, despite a December release, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol made $694 million for a fifth-place finish on the worldwide chart. On the other hand, MCU’s Captain America: The First Avenger ($370 million) and Thor ($449 million) couldn’t even make it into the top 10 despite their summer runs, registering below Cruise’s stunner in both worldwide and domestic ranks, as well as critical reception.
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The Mission: Impossible series lost its glory of beating Marvel in 2015 when Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sophomore entry to their crown jewel franchise-within-franchise, bested Rogue Nation’s $682 million with $1.4 billion (according to Box Office Mojo), despite Ant-Man ($519 million) not going out of its way to put butts into theater seats.
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The phenomenon returned in 2018 when Avengers: Infinity War ($2 billion) and Black Panther ($1.34 billion) won the box office, while Mission: Impossible—Fallout, despite better critical response and longevity, settled for $791 million, the highest global tally in the franchise at the time.
In 2023, thanks to Barbenheimer, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning ($571 million) registered softly at worldwide ticket windows. While Marvel suffered far worse with two of the biggest box office bombs of all time — Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($476 million) and The Marvels ($206 million) — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($845 million) caused an upset to circumvent the Entity’s threat.
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Now, in 2025, amid the underwhelming fan interest and sloppy approach to inserting social messages, Marvel’s untouchable summit has fallen precipitously. It’s Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million) and Thunderbolts* ($278 million worldwide at the time of writing) do not carry the impetus to resist Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning reclaiming its box office crown.
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While the Tom Cruise spectacle is all but assured to bring in at least $600 million ($200 million of that within North America), the judgment lies in the hands of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Current murmurs suggest that The Final Reckoning has got it in its pocket, though with Marvel, one never knows.
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Note: Box office numbers are attributed to estimates from various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.
