The fifth installment to the Mission: Impossible franchise "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" still starring Tom Cruise as agent Ethan Hunt made a whopping $56 million on opening weekend.

Opening in over 3,900 theater locations, the movie grossed $20.3 million when it opened on Friday. Continued positive reviews from fans and movie critics shot its earnings up to $56M.

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"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" also stars Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Ferguson, and Alec Baldwin. It was written and directed by Chris McQuarrie.

It was undoubtedly Cruise's willingness to perform death-defying stunts that played a huge role in the movie's success, giving it the authenticity audiences were looking for, such as hanging outside an Airbus A400 during takeoff, explained Paramount Pictures Vice-Chairman Rob Moore in a report by Variety.

"They have delivered a film that has such energy and excitement," Moore noted.

The Paramount vice-chair also revealed in the same interview that "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" was supposed to be released in December but was pushed ahead of schedule.

The movie's blockbuster success is only the third biggest opening for the Hollywood actor. "Mission: Impossible 2" hit $57.8 Million, and "War of the Worlds" was his highest at $64.9 Million.

Over the year, Cruise was entangled in Scientology issues with a documentary being released supposedly detailing the issue and Cruise's involvement. But Rentrak's senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian did not think this affected Cruise's marketability as stated in a Fox News report.

"The average moviegoer just cares about the movie. They're not thinking about that other stuff," he told the news site in the same report.

Overseas earnings of "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" went just as well, premiering in some 40 countries making $65 million. Its IMAX screening also grossed $8.4 million domestically and $4.1 Million overseas, Comingsoon.net reported.

The report added that the movie's blockbuster opening silenced all speculations on whether Cruise was back to an even bigger and better actor.

TagsMission: Impossible Rogue Nation, MI 5, Rogue Nation, Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg