Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’ Set To Be ‘Lassoed’ By Comic Book Favorite On Weekend Release

Tom Cruise may still be one of Hollywood favorites, but he certainly gets beaten by brunette beauty Gal Gadot in terms of attracting 2017 audiences to the cinemas – at least in the U.S.

The Mummy, the latest project of Tom Cruise, is set to be lassoed by Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman on its opening weekend this coming Friday, even though it will be latter’s second weekend on the box-office run.

The Mummy, however, can expect a strong run overseas, where Tom Cruise still draws audiences to cinemas, according to latest forecasts by one of Hollywood’s most respected polling services, NRG.

According to the latest NRG forecasts, The Mummy is expected to gross only $35 million domestically this coming weekend, while Wonder Woman could rake in more than $50 million.

While The Mummy’s rather gloomy domestic run could be attributed to Tom Cruise’s dwindling popularity in the U.S. — and even could be America’s refusal to see the Mission: Impossible star amid the controversies surrounding his involvement in the Church of Scientology — the 54-year-old actor still has huge sway overseas.

This is not the first time Tom Cruise’s film could potentially enjoy far more success overseas than in the U.S., as both 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow and 2013’s Oblivion had a more successful run overseas than they did domestically.

Wonder Woman, which debuted at a little more than $100 million in the U.S. on June 2, is forecast to rake in half of the amount on its second weekend, $50 million-plus.

Wonder Woman would, however, most likely lose its international box office competition to the Mummy reboot starring Tom Cruise in the coming weekend, as The Mummy is expected to be placed No. 1 at the foreign box office.

Besides Tom Cruise’s shrinking popularity in the U.S. – whether it’s because he has reportedly not seen his daughter, Suri, in over three years or because he has appeared in way too many action movies lately (Jack Reacher 2, Mission: Impossible, Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion) – The Mummy’s unimpressive domestic box office run could also be attributed to the film’s “feel of another reboot,” according to the Hollywood Reporter citing box-office analyst Jeff Bock.

While audiences – especially in the U.S. – are fed up with reboot films, The Mummy could still find success overseas. What may further potentially upset moviegoers is that The Mummy has no after-credits scene, according to Screen Rant.

The Mummy, which cost Universal $125 million to make, is still expected to surpass its budget, but only thanks to the film’s international run.

In fact, The Mummy wouldn’t be the first major 2017 film to haul more money from overseas than in the U.S.

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which debuted late last month, has so far raked in only $115 million domestically and nearly $400 million in the foreign box office.

The Mummy reboot, directed by Alex Kurtzman (producer of 2009’s Star Trek and 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2), is expected to be lassoed by Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, which has even surpassed the opening weekend box-office gross of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

More notably, Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, broke the record for the most profitable opening weekend for a movie directed by a woman previously held by Sam Taylor-Johnson for 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey.

Tom Cruise is currently shooting M:I 6 – Mission Impossible, so he had better do everything possible — and impossible — to revive his U.S. popularity just in time for the film’s 2018 release to give it a more successful domestic run.

[Featured Image by Rick Rycroft/AP Images]