The film also posted huge numbers overseas, earning $92 million from its first 36 markets — or only 40 percent of the foreign marketplace — for a series-high global bow of $153.5 million, including $12.5 million from Imax theaters and led by South Korea with a huge $24.5 million. And that's without China, where the pic doesn't open until Aug. 31.

Fallout is a major win for the Viacom-owned Paramount and is the first Mission: Impossible movie to be made and released during studio chief Jim Gianopulos' tenure. It is also a testament to Cruise's continued star power around the globe.

"Tom Cruise has proven time and time again that when it comes to action, he is one of the most dependable stars out there. We've had all these big visual-effect driven summer movies. Now comes along a movie where the actor and director are putting it all on the line with real stunts. It provides raw and visceral entertainment that people are excited about," says Paramount domestic distribution chief Kyle Davies.

Until Fallout, Mission: Impossible II ($57.8 million) boasted the series' top domestic opening, a record the sequel had held since 2000, not adjusted for inflation. The last installment, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015), was next up with a domestic debut of $55.5 million in late July 2015. So far, Fallout is pacing 11 percent ahead of Rogue Nation domestically, and 19 percent ahead internationally.

Other achievements for Fallout: The film sports the top Rotten Tomatoes score — 97 percent — of any Mission: Impossible pic, and is the first to earn an A CinemaScore. While males still made up the majority of the audience (55 percent), Paramount says more females turned up this time (45 percent), versus 40 percent for Rogue Nation. Fallout also played older, with nearly 60 percent of ticket buyers 35 and older.

Fallout reunites Cruise with his Rogue Nation director, Christopher McQuarrie. Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin all reprise their roles from previous M:I pics, while Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett and Vanessa Kirby join the series. The plot follows Hunt and his crew as they try to outsmart a CIA agent (Cavill) who is trying to kill them after an assignment gone wrong.

Cruise once again performed a number of his own high-risk stunts, one of which resulted in the actor breaking his ankle in London. Production was suspended for eight weeks, with insurance covering much of the tens of millions in added costs to the $178 million budget.

The weekend's other new nationwide entry, Warner Bros.' Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, came in behind expectations with a fifth-place opening of $10.5 million from 3,188 theaters.

Teen Titans, earning strong reviews but a B+ CinemaScore, is the first feature film adapted from the popular children's animated series on Cartoon Network. The voice cast features Kristen Bell, Will Arnett, Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong and Hynden Walch. The film cost a modest $10 million to make.

Among holdovers, Universal's Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again beat Sony's The Equalizer 2 to come in No. 2. Still, Mamma Mia! 2 slipped a relatively steep 57 percent in its second outing to $15 million from 3,514 theaters for a domestic total of $70.4 million, ahead of the 10-day total for the first film ($62.6 million).

Overseas, the female-fueled musical earned another $26.6 million for a foreign total of $96.8 million and $167.3 million worldwide.

Facing competition for males, Equalizer 2 — the first sequel of Denzel Washington's career — tumbled more than 60 percent to $14 million for a 10-day domestic total of $64.2 million. The thriller took in an additional $1.9 million overseas from 11 markets for an early foreign tally of $6.1 million and $70.3 million globally.

Fellow Sony film Hotel Transylvania 3 came in No. 4 in its third weekend with an estimated $12.3 million for a cume of $119.2 million in North America. The animated family pic likely made life difficult for Teen Titans. Overseas, the threequel earned an additional $31 million for a foreign cume of $165 million and $284.2 million globally.

And Disney/Pixar's Incredibles 2 remained a force in its seventh weekend as it approached the $1 billion mark at the global box office. The movie grossed $7.2 million in North America and another $20 million overseas for a global cume of $997 million. Incredibles 2 will be the fourth film of 2018 to join the billion-dollar club behind fellow Disney pics Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther and Universal's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

New offerings at the specialty box office included A24's Hot Summer Nights, starring Timothee Chalamet and Maika Monroe. There wasn't much hot about the movie's debut in 12 locations; it earned $12,166 for a dismal location average of $1,014. The coming-of-age drama, which had been awaiting release since premiering at SXSW more than a year ago, currently has a 42 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.