Paramount Pictures has a lot riding on Mission: Impossible 8, which reportedly will be one of the most expensive movies ever made. Mission: Impossible 8 has had a long road to the big screen. Filming began in March 2022, and despite being over a year ahead of the start, the film was halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike in July 2023. Production then resumed in March 2024 but faced more delays due to a malfunction with a submarine. After nearly two years in production, the budget for Misson: Impossible 8 was always going to be high, but just how high could spell disaster for Tom Cruise’s latest mission.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Mission: Impossible 8 production budget is approaching $400 million. While no exact number was given, if the budget is $400 million, that would make Mission: Impossible 8 the fourth most expensive movie ever behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($447 million), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($432 million), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($416 million). Adjusted for inflation, it would rank at number 8, just between Avengers: Endgame ($424 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($394 million).

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, the predecessor to Mission: Impossible 8, made headlines for having a budget of $291 million. Despite Dead Reckoning grossing $570 million worldwide, the movie was seen as a disappointment as it came in behind the previous three movies in the franchise, all of which cost less. Domestically, Dead Reckoning was the second lowest-grossing Mission: Impossible film, only coming ahead of 2006’s Mission: Impossible 3. With Mission: Impossible 8 now costing even more than Dead Reckoning, Paramount Pictures will need this film to be a massive hit at the worldwide box office to justify the cost. With the rising budget, it seems like Paramount Pictures is setting the stage to end the franchise.

Is Making Back This Budget Its Own Impossible Mission?

The Hollywood Reporter article also reports that Paramount Pictures is looking to market Mission: Impossible 8 as the final film in the franchise, likely in the hope of playing off audience nostalgia and people out to see what they think is the final film for Ethan Hunt. Marketing as the final film in a saga worked well for Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Jurassic World: Dominion, all of which were not even the final entry in their franchise. However, Tom Cruise is reportedly not eager to end his time as Ethan Hunt anytime soon.

Mission: Impossible 8 marketing campaign will soon kick-off, with the first trailer likely attached to Gladiator II. Paramount Pictures is looking to debut the film at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and it is set to open on Memorial Day weekend, where it will go head-to-head with Disney’s live-action Lilo and Stich. It will need to have a stronghold in June against titles like Karate Kid: Legends, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake, and F1 to make back its astronomical budget.