Scouting Hollywood: July 27-Aug. 2

A roundup of news, gossip and history of the entertainment business brought to you from Hollywood, Calif.

Tom Cruise garnered first place at the box office last weekend with the latest chapter of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning Part One. The movie earned $80 million over five days, and $56.2 million for the three-day weekend. This was the second highest opening of the seven Mission: Impossible films, slight less than Fallout which earned $61.2 million in 2018.

Angel Studio’s faith-based drama Sound of Freedom took second place with $27 million, an increase of 37 percent over its opening weekend. It is unheard of for a movie to see its box office increase in a second week in wide release, though it did expand from 2,852 to 3,265 theaters based on a groundswell of popular demand. Starring Jim Caviezel, the film on human smuggling has resonated with a large and varied audience. It will easily break the $100 million threshold and become the breakout film of 2023.