<figure id="attachment_427651" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-427651" style="width: 2849px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0dc96380"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/e4e9b2740386caa96c80a18efeac4e1e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-427651" class="wp-caption-text">Director Christopher McQuarrie (left) and Tom Cruise attend the premiere of &#8220;Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning&#8221; in Mexico.</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Tom Cruise, who beat out &#8220;Detective Conan.</span></h2>
<p> Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning,&#8221; the latest film in the series starring Tom Cruise (62), opened simultaneously in Japan and the U.S. on May 23. In Japan, the film was No. 1 in attendance over the three-day weekend (May 23-25), surpassing the animated film &#8220;Detective Conan: Sekigan no Zanzo (せき眼の残像)&#8221; which had been No. 1 for four consecutive weeks. (Seigan no Zanzou),&#8221; which had been No. 1 for the previous four consecutive weekends.</p>
<p> In its second weekend (May 30-June 1), it was also No. 1 (according to Kogyo Tsushinsha), making it the fastest-grossing live-action film released in ‛25, including advance screenings from May 17, to exceed 3 billion yen at the box office.</p>
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<p> The &#8220;culmination&#8221; of the 29-year-long series, which has been called &#8220;the best film of all time,&#8221; is believed to have spurred the popularity of the series.</p>
<p> In the U.S., however, &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch,&#8221; a live-action version of the popular Disney animated series that was released on the same day (June 6 in Japan), grossed $182.6 million (about 26,294.4 million yen) in four days (May 23 to 26), including Memorial Day (May 26, a holiday commemorating fallen warriors). The film was No. 1 at the box office with a total of $182.6 million (¥26,294.4 million).</p>
<p> Mission: Impossible&#8221; came in second with approximately $79.04 million, trailing only &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; in its second weekend (May 31-June 1) (data from U.S. box office website Box Office Mojo).</p>
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<p> This remake of the animated version of &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; (2002), combining live-action and CG, is set on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and depicts the bond between Lilo, a 5-year-old girl who lives alone with her older sister Nani after their parents die, and Stitch, an alien she meets at an animal shelter. It is a heartwarming fantasy.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; was a big winner, thanks in large part to the three-day weekend that fell on Memorial Day, the day that commemorates fallen generals. It seems to have mobilized families in large numbers. On the other hand, &#8220;Mission: Impossible&#8221; is said to have attracted a relatively large number of older viewers,&#8221; said a source from a Japanese foreign film distributor.</span></p>
<p> In the U.S., moviegoing as a family pastime is even more popular than in Japan. The fact that &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; was shown in 4,410 theaters compared to &#8220;Mission: Impossible&#8221;&#8216;s 3,857 in the U.S. seems to indicate that the theaters&#8217; need to attract families was high since the three-day weekend started.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Cruise and Stitch&#39;s &quot;Critical Differences&quot;"></div>
<h2><span class="strongInContent">From June 6, a slugfest in Japan was on the cards.</span></h2>
<p> However, it was unexpected that &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; came in first place with a double score when the lid was lifted. Although Disney movies in the U.S. are immensely popular, Cruise&#8217;s intense action scenes and difficult scenarios such as nuclear and AI wars probably turned off families with young children, even though the movie was released with no age restriction.</p>
<p> Nevertheless, this is the eighth film in the series. In its first three-day weekend, it was the highest-grossing film in the series in the United States.</p>
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<p> On May 30, Cruise posted a photo on his Instagram page showing the making of the famous scene in the first film in which he is suspended by a wire from the ceiling,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> 《More than 30 years ago, I began my journey to make the first &#8220;Mission: Impossible&#8221; film. Since then, these eight films have taken me on the adventure of a lifetime. I want to thank all of the amazing directors, actors, artists, and crew members around the world who helped bring these stories to life.</span></p>
<p> he said.</p>
<p> Cruise was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter at the New York premiere.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I said I would keep making movies into my 80s, and I&#8217;m going to keep making movies into my 100s.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> He said. For Cruise, now 62, that would not be a hard goal.</p>
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<p> In his latest film, Cruise risked his life by clinging to the wings of a propeller-driven plane in mid-flight and kicking off his nemesis, all without performing any stunts. We look forward to more sequels in the &#8220;Mission: Impossible&#8221; series, but we are also anxious to see what will happen in the slugfest that will begin on June 6 in Japan with &#8220;Lilo &amp; Stitch&#8221; vs.</p>
<p> Unlike the U.S., where the films were released at the same time, the battle started two weeks apart. What kind of battle will the Hawaiian aliens put up in Japan, where cruises are even more popular than in their home country?</p>


 Ryo Sakamoto (Former head of Culture and Society Department, Tokyo Sports Newspaper)

 Reuters/Afro

 The spy movie "Mission Impossible," starring Tom Cruise, took the top spot at the box office in Japan, surpassing Detective Conan-kun, who was at the top of the list. However, in its home country, the U.S., it was completely defeated by that Hawaiian alien. ......

Why Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” is losing out to the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” in the U.S.

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