Tom Cruise tries to reclaim IMAX cinemas from ‘Oppenheimer’
Whilst Christopher Nolan fans and cinephiles are eagerly awaiting the release of Oppenheimer, the big-budget filmmaker’s upcoming feature about the conception of the first atomic bomb, it seems that actor/producer Tom Cruise isn’t so happy.
A big song and dance has been made about the Cillian Murphy-led film being shot predominantly on 65mm IMAX film, and in classic Nolan tradition, he’s had the studio acquire every cinema capable of showcasing the format for ‘special presentations’. Not just most of them; Universal has literally secured all IMAX cinemas in North America and beyond for a full three weeks.
Although Cruise was famously told by Steven Spielberg, “You saved Hollywood’s ass and you might have saved theatrical distribution”, referring to the huge success Top Gun: Maverick had in pulling audiences to cinemas during Covid, the A-lister is now finding it impossible to book IMAX screens for his own upcoming film for any longer than ten days.
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, slated for release on July 12th, has most of the IMAX screens booked until Oppenheimer arrives on July 21st and claims every single one. Cruise, whose forthcoming Mission Impossible entry cost nearly $300 million and was specifically designed to be an event spectacle like the previous iterations before it, is reportedly extremely unhappy. According to multiple sources involved in the ongoing disputes, the actor/producer has been kicking up a storm with Paramount executives.
Unfortunately for Cruise and the rest of the Mission Impossible team, it looks unlikely the situation will change; the late July slot was booked in by Universal nearly a year earlier than Paramount’s picture. It’s reported that he’s also been showing a cut of the seventh instalment of the franchise to cinemas in a bid to win them round to his favour. Barbie and Oppenheimer both have the same release date — widely seen as a personal slight from Warner Bros. against Universal after Nolan, previously a loyal Warner Bros director, switched sides.
With both of these films expected to pull in huge crowds, Cruise is apparently worried a huge bulk of his potential audience will be poached, so he’s approaching even non-IMAX exhibitors to ask them to withdraw Barbie and Oppenheimer and instal Mission Impossible 7 instead. Neither the actor’s representative nor Paramount has agreed to comment.
Watch the trailer for Dead Reckoning Part One below.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.