Paramount's Mission: Impossible 7 is holding to its scheduled November 2021 release date, with one provision. 45 days after the Tom Cruise film hits theaters, it will stream on Paramount Plus, the service formerly known as CBS All Access. Several other Paramount films, including A Quiet Place Part II and Paw Patrol: The Movie, will release the same way.
Paramount originally intended for the Tom Cruise spy flick Mission: Impossible 7 to come out in July 2021. As has become the norm, the studio pushed it back several months on account of the ongoing pandemic. Needless to say, A Quiet Place Part II suffered the same cruel fate. While the horror sequel's world premiere was originally in March 2020, it won't release in theaters until September 2021.
Paramount definitely knows that Mission: Impossible 7 has huge potential. 2018's Mission: Impossible - Fallout released to rave reviews and the highest box office total of Cruise's career. The six-film franchise has pulled in more than $3.5 billion total. That makes the studio's decision to send the newest entry to streaming surprising, though not unprecedented. HBO Max already broke that barrier by giving films like Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong same-day premieres.
CBS All Access's biggest fault was a lack of content. Thankfully, Paramount seems to have realized they need to compensate for that upon relaunch. By sending likely blockbusters to their platform, they're earning a seat at the streaming wars table. If that plan doesn't work and Mission: Impossible 7 bombs, well, they're already working on the next one, although Mission: Impossible 8 adjusted its shooting schedule recently. That definitely gives them more options than they would have otherwise.
Now more than ever, every film studio needs to be focused on streaming. Paramount, admittedly, has gone without its own service for a while. In 2020, this forced them to sell films like The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Eddie Murphy's Coming 2 America to streaming platforms. However, it seems like Paramount will try to be more independent from now on. From their point of view, that's probably their best hope of survival. Theaters, at least in most countries, just aren't what they used to be. Box office analysts have said for months that it'll be a while before big-budget tentpoles can turn a profit again. Paramount needs as much content as they can get to make it past the scourge, however long it takes.
There is still some hope in the fog. In China, theaters are better than ever: films like Detective Chinatown 3 and Hi, Mom are crushing box office records. Plus, regardless of whether theaters stay open or closed, the sense of community that filmgoers share is very much alive. Even during the lockdown, shows such as Marvel Studios' WandaVision have amassed devoted fan bases with members from across the globe. Hopefully, whatever movies and shows Paramount Plus has planned will have a similar impact.
Mission: Impossible 7 is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 19, 2021, before being available on Paramount Plus starting January 3, 2022.
Source: Deadline