MI3: Backlash Backlash

In the Hollywood Reporter, Ray Richmond and Anne Thompson take issue with the widespread media coverage of MI3's purportedly lousy opening weekend.

In fact, the near-$50 million take was exactly in line with pre-release tracking, and though it didn't do quite as well as previous MI's, they opened on juicier holiday weekends. Factor out the memorial day weekend boost, and MI3 did almost exactly as well.

Plus, it's already made $120 million worldwide. General perception that the movie is a borderline box office bomb surely reflects anti-Tom Cruise sentiment, but it could feed the idea that the movie itself is bad, when in fact it's pretty good. That kind of false perception is exactly what rival studios would like, which makes you wonder who was responsible for the optimistic "projections" that analysts touted.

Having seen both "Poseidon" and "Just My Luck," I'd say "MI3" has every chance of holding up well against those two titles. It's a far more entertaining movie.