'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' Trailer Bets Big On A (Potentially Illusionary) Finale Bump

Looking at various series finales in recent decades, 'Avengers: Endgame' or 'Harry Potter 7.2'-sized jumps are the exception to the rule, and there's usually an asterisk.

Really? You had over a year to develop a new title for Dead Reckoning Part II, and you came up with The Final Reckoning? I know Paramount and Skydance were hoping for a finale bump, but offhand Mission: Impossible: Epilogue would have worked, too. Yes, we have the (surprisingly short) teaser trailer for Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning. It displays something I’ve never seen before with the ongoing Ethan Hunt franchise: desperation, almost approaching flop sweat. The trailer puts all its marbles on the notion that this is the end of the line for Tom Cruise’s superspy. That only carries weight if we’re still invested in that journey.  

If audiences are onboard, you’ll sometimes see a “finale bump” akin to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II or Avengers: Endgame. Harry Potter 7.2 earned $1.34 billion worldwide eight months after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I grossed $960 million. Avengers 4 earned $2.8 billion a year after Avengers 3 earned $2.05 billion. However, and maybe I’ve been wrong about the whole “finale bump” notion, some of that upswing was circumstantial.