The unattainable was actually not so preposterous.

As this flush summer campaign continues it was another large weekend of returns. The arrival of another big blockbuster brought in audiences, and the holdovers saw some respectable business as well.

A sixth franchise installment overtook everyone. Overall the total of all titles came in 8% higher than the same weekend last year; that was when a glut of sequels sputtered to dismal summer results. 2018 is proving to be a rather fertile segment (so much so that I may struggle with my annual “Bombs of Summer” article.)

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT – $61.233 Million
The stunt-prone Tom Cruise had a much-hyped on-set injury, and the critics made his effort worthwhile, raving about the fifth sequel in the franchise. (It sits with a massive 97% approval on Rotten Tomatoes.) This stands as the largest opening of all of the six titles, but that comes with plenty of caveats. This release had the widest theater count of any prior. Also, the franchise is 22 years old and those previous openings are better with inflation adjustments. I usually give that comparison light consideration, as budgets also need to be scaled up to give a proper perspective. “Fallout” was the most expensive to make, so the comparisons will be close with that regard.

2. MAMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN – $15.1m
The warbling of Abba took second place for the second week. While it still is pacing a bit ahead of the first film this dropped a sharp -56.8% here in week two. The original only dipped -36%, as it went on to land in the top-10 all-time of grosses for musicals.

3. THE EQUALIZER 2 – $14.02
Also taking a healthy hit, falling -61%, there is little weeping taking place. This Denzel Washington action piece has already exceeded original expectations. There is the likelihood of seeing a profit, depending on how Sony rolls out the film overseas.

4. HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION – $12.25m
Holding respectably but still lagging within the series. The numbers rank well enough, but due mostly to having the widest release of the trio. It should come in right at the same level as the previous entries.

5. TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES – $10.41m
Warner Brothers continues to see a struggle within its DC Comics properties. Here they adapted the hit Cartoon Network farce to theaters, and it managed to underwhelm. Projections had it landing in the $15-20 million range. There may be little risk here, as the feature-length adaptation cost $10 million. Still, the studio has yet to come to properly come to grips with the intellectual property the comic supplier delivers them.

6. ANT-MAN AND THE WASP – $8.76m
Poised to take over the total of the first infestation, there are other goals to look ahead at swarming. Nearing the $200 million domestic level, and having reached the $400 million worldwide mark already, next is to see if it can achieve the $519 million global tally of the original.

7. INCREDIBLES 2 – $7.25m
This has become an animated behemoth. $575 million domestically, and it has made it to $1 billion international, and it is far from over. There are still a number of major international markets it has yet to open in.

8. JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM – $6.72m
By next weekend the dinosaurs and Chris Pratt will have earned $400 million stateside, and over 1.25 billion global. It falls short of the last film but is still a monstrous figure.

9. SKYSCRAPER – $5.34m
Continuing to crumble, Dwayne Johnson’s action epic collapses as one of the few failures of the summer. In just its third week it has already shed over 1,000 screens, while not even reaching the $60 million mark. However Universal may yet dig out from the rubble. Overseas Johnson has proven himself the draw, as this title has earned an additional $200 million in foreign receipts.

10. THE FIRST PURGE – $2.21m
Another that benefited from a wider release than the predecessors. It performed on par with the others. And while earning $65 million against a budget of merely $13 million, it is safe to say there will be more on the way.