Paramount falls after box office miss for 'Mission: Impossible 7'

Investing.com -- Shares in Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) slipped in early U.S. trading on Monday after this weekend's domestic box office performance of the studio's latest "Mission: Impossible" action-adventure epic missed expectations.

"Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One," the seventh outing for the globetrotting, Tom Cruise-led franchise, amassed $56.2 million in the U.S. and Canada over the Friday-to-Sunday period, according to studio estimates. The returns were less than the $61M to $75M projected by film industry magazine Boxoffice Pro.

Over the five days since the film's premiere last Wednesday, it has raked in $80M in ticket sales. Early studio estimates had seen the figure at about $90M.

Internationally, the movie has amassed $155M despite a relatively weak showing in China. This brings the global total to $235M, the best-ever worldwide start for the franchise. Overseas returns tend to make up a signficant portion of the overall money made by "Mission" films.

But the newest installment is still some distance from surpassing its $300M budget, a tally that increased due to COVID-related delays and safety protocols. The picture also faces rising competition in the coming days with the July 21 debuts of fantasy comedy "Barbie" and historical drama "Oppenheimer."