Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will debut at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, screening out of competition. The film’s premiere will take place at the Grand Theatre Lumiere, with Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie, and cast members expected to attend. This marks Cruise’s third appearance at Cannes, following Far and Away (1992) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), where he received an honorary Palme d’Or. The movie will release globally on May 21 in France and May 23 in the U.S. .
The eighth installment in the franchise, The Final Reckoning is billed as Cruise’s final performance as Ethan Hunt. The plot follows Hunt’s battle against a rogue AI called “the Entity,” requiring him to locate a sunken Russian submarine to retrieve critical code. Returning cast members include Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Angela Bassett, with new additions like Hannah Waddingham and Nick Offerman .
High Stakes for Paramount
With a reported $400 million production budget (excluding marketing costs), The Final Reckoning needs to gross over $1 billion worldwide to break even—a milestone no previous Mission: Impossible film has achieved. The highest-earning entry, Fallout (2018), made $791 million globally. Paramount’s decision to premiere the film at Cannes nine days before its theatrical release is seen as a bold move, contrasting with Disney’s Indiana Jones 5 and Warner Bros.’ Joker: Folie à Deux, which faced mixed reactions after festival debuts .
Cannes has historically boosted films like Top Gun: Maverick (which earned $1.45 billion post-festival) but also carries risks. As one insider noted, “Paramount can’t afford to have their latest Mission: Impossible tank with critics at Cannes” .
Fremaux’s Cannes Vision
Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux expressed enthusiasm for including The Final Reckoning in this year’s lineup, calling it a “natural and logical” choice given Cruise’s previous festival success. In an interview, Fremaux highlighted the festival’s role in bridging arthouse and commercial cinema:
“We hope to reunite with [Paramount] and greet all of Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie’s fans. Cannes has always been able to control its development, which is also constrained by our cinemas” .
The 2025 festival, running May 13–24, will feature a record number of U.S. submissions and a focus on gender diversity, with Fremaux noting a rise in female-directed films. Competition titles include Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, and Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague .
Trailer Hints at AI Threat
A trailer released ahead of the Cannes announcement teases the film’s central conflict: Hunt’s showdown with the Entity. McQuarrie, who co-wrote the script with Erik Jendresen, described the story as a “final chapter” that ties up loose ends from earlier films. The footage highlights Cruise’s signature stunts, including a motorcycle cliff jump and a fight scene on a moving train .
Global Release Strategy
The Final Reckoning will launch in India on May 23 in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, with IMAX screenings. Paramount’s global rollout aligns with Cannes’ international audience, leveraging Cruise’s star power to maximize box office returns. The studio has yet to confirm if the film will screen at other festivals, though industry analysts suggest Venice or Toronto are unlikely given the tight release window.
