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Ryan Kyle: Even though the opening weekend isn't jaw-dropping in terms of what we have seen this year so far, $56 million is still a win for the film and studio. How many franchises can you name that five films deep still draw grosses in line with peak opening of the sequel without the assistance of a reboot, lead recasting, or a decade-long dormancy? Tom Cruise isn't known for monster openings, with the only films opening higher being M:I-2 and War of the Worlds (those are within spitting distance of M:I-5's opening), but for very well-sized ones followed by leggy performances. With strong word-of-mouth and a barely noticeable Friday-to-Saturday dip, M:I-5 is on course for $200 million domestically, with the lion's share coming from overseas. After a few mixed original results that ranged from flops (Rock of Ages) to respectable (Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow), Cruise shows that like Denzel Washington, he is one of the few movie stars left that can anchor a picture beyond a $20 million opening.

Comparing it to the studio’s other summer release, Terminator: Genisys, which is also a franchise five films deep, it just goes to show how strong of a franchise Mission: Impossible is.

Edwin Davies: This is a testament to good filmmaking, smart scheduling, and Tom Cruise. Audience loyalty is a very fickle thing that is hard to achieve, harder to maintain, and the Mission: Impossible series has managed to do that, despite nearly blowing it the second time out. The last three films have established the series as one with a reputation for quality blockbuster filmmaking that delivers thrills and insane stunts, something which played out again in the relentless talk about how Cruise really did strap himself on to the side of that plane. They also took advantage of a quiet weekend (or a comparatively quiet one compared to when the film would have originally come out) and got lucky when Ant-Man didn't become a juggernaut so the action fans would have been eager for something new. And then you have Tom Cruise, the closest thing Hollywood has to a Don Draper-sequel pitch man. The man can sell a movie like no one else, and when he has the goods to back that salesmanship up, you get results like this.

Felix Quinonez: It's a great result and shows that the franchise is in great shape. I think people were ready to give it a chance because of the goodwill that Ghost Protocol generated. And the glowing reviews definitely helped put some butts in the seats. I'm very interested to see how it holds up from here. I know the reviews are in line with Ghost Protocol, but I think that movie's legs were helped by the Christmas season. I don't think that $200 million domestically is a sure thing, but it should get close to it. And it might set a new franchise record for overseas gross.

David Mumpower: I echo many of the thoughts here, but I want to take them a step farther. Ryan rightly notes that for all of Tom Cruise's triumphs, he's not an opener relative to how we define the term now. He's the embodiment of a previous box office era where films debuted more modestly than ran longer due to their quality. George Clooney probably best represents that model today, but Cruise himself still carries the flag for that style of cinema. Given those parameters, the actor is claiming one of his best performances ever not just in terms of actual domestic dollars but also international dollars, the latter market being an area where he's always qualified as a trendsetter.

Along those lines, I believe that it's more than just the impeccable quality of the two prior Mission: Impossible films that boosted the box office here. I also think that Edge of Tomorrow, an under-performer domestically, found new life on home video during its Live. Die. Repeat. post-release phase. People watching that film remembered why they always enjoyed Cruise the actor even if they're not so crazy about Cruise the person. He's come back in exactly the way we suggested in a MMQB a few years ago. He picked quality movies that exemplified his talents.

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