‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Vacation’ to kick off slower summer month at box office

The box office is shaping up for a slow start in August, with the latest “Mission Impossible� expected to open with modest ticket sales this weekend.

“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation� will make about $40 million when it plays in about 3,800 locations beginning Friday, according to people familiar with pre-release audience surveys. The action film, from Paramount and Skydance Productions, cost $150 million to make.

Though the year-to-date 2015 box office is up almost 9%, some analysts believe the August slate is not strong enough to make summer grosses surge. Other movies coming out this month include Twentieth Century Fox’s superhero film “Fantastic Four,� Meryl Streep comedy-drama “Ricki and the Flash,� STX Entertainment’s thriller “The Gift� and Lionsgate’s “Shaun the Sheep Movie.�

“August looks very underwhelming,� said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at the tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. “The excitement already feels like it’s faded away from the summer. Nothing says $100-million movie on it.�

So far this summer, there’s only been three films to open with more than $100 million – which is considered by the industry to be the bar set for blockbusters. The films that have made the cut since May include “Avengers: Age of Ultron,� “Jurassic World� and “Minions.�

None of the “Mission Impossible� movies have debuted with over $100 million domestically, with most of them averaging about half that. However, the franchise has had much success globally. The four prevous installments have combined to gross more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office.

In addition to the U.S. and Canada, “Rogue Nation� will open in 40 other countries this weekend, including the U.K., Australia, Mexico and South Korea. It is scheduled to open in China on Sept. 8.

Meanwhile, comedy “Vacation,� which rolls out in theaters beginning on Tuesday night, is expected to open with a solid $25 million to $34 million over the five-day period.

The film, which is being released by Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema label, is written and directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis, co-writers of the popular summer 2011 comedy “Horrible Bosses.�

It follows the next generation of the Griswold family, played by Ed Helms (from “The Hangover� films), Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann and others

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