Box Office: 'Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation' Cruising to $45M-Plus U.S. Debut

Tom Cruise's mission Impossible  is off to a pleasing start at the North American box office, where it is pacing to gross $18 million-plus for the day for a weekend debut in the $45 million-plus range, if not approaching $50 million.

Friday's take is the best ever for a Mission: Impossible movie. The previous record was $16.6 million for Mission: Impossible II.

In a test of Cruise's star-power, there's been plenty of speculation as to how the big-budget film, costing Paramount and Skydance Productions $150 million to make, will fare in the U.S. At this pace, Rogue Nation will pose the second-best weekend opening of the series behind the second installment.

The critically acclaimed film, buoyed by an A- CinemaScore, is the fifth installment in the action franchise and is playing in 3,956 North American theaters. It will easily win the weekend, and is expected to be even bigger overseas, where it rolls out in numerous markets (Cruise remains a far bigger star internationally). The Mission: Impossible movies have never opened to huge numbers, outside of the second film, which took in $70.8 million over the long Memorial Day weekend in 2000, including $57 million for the weekend itself.

Meanwhile it's set to premier in Nigeria on August 7th.....