‘Impossible’ earnings below expectations

Maybe Tom Cruise’s real mission impossible was selling a movie whose star spent the last year jumping on couches.

The long-awaited “Mission: Impossible III,” in which Cruise returns for another action-packed spin as agent Ethan Hunt, earned an estimated $48 million at the weekend box office – finishing No. 1, but well below expectations.

The total had been widely projected at $60 million to $75 million, which allowing for increased ticket prices, would have been in the same range as the first two “M:I” films. “Mission: Impossible” opened in May 1996 with $45.4 million, and “Mission: Impossible II” in May 2000 with $57.8 million.

Speculation immediately began on whether Cruise had drawn attention away from the film with his bizarre behavior, which has included jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch, blasting Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants, arguing with “Today” show host Matt Lauer and micromanaging the pregnancy of his fiancée Katie Holmes.

Paramount Pictures said it was not disappointed. The film, which cost $150 million to make, earned an additional $70 million overseas and is expected to be comfortably profitable.