Breaking a recent string of domestic disappointments for Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is off to a strong start. With an estimate of $56 million from 3,956 locations, M:I 5 now stands as the sixth-highest August debut in box office history.There was a time when August at the box office meant one of two things: releases of questionable appeal, like The Expendables, or ‘smaller’ films, like The Help and Lee Daniels’ The Butler. In either category, August releases always had the chance to become hits. In fact, all three of the aforementioned titles were successful in their domestic runs. But they were rarely considered guaranteed winners. That’s why they were scheduled for August in the first place.Of course, the August paradigm shifted in a big way last year with Guardians of the Galaxy. Though part of the uber-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, GoG’s appeal was at least a question mark at the time of its opening. And what happened? A debut of $94.3 million (a new record for August) and a domestic total of $333.1 million – the third-highest grossing title of 2014. Influenced, in part, by Marvel’s success, Paramount chose the first weekend in August (the same frame that launched GoG) for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.mission-impossible-rogue-nation-posterPre-GoG, August would have seemed an appropriate month to launch the latest Mission: Impossible title. The franchise had two giant summer hits with Mission: Impossible (1996) and Mission: Impossible II (2000), but hit a road bump with Mission: Impossible III in May 2006. That ended up as the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, with a domestic total of just $134 million. Five years later, Paramount chose to avoid summer altogether for the fourth M:I release – Ghost Protocol.Ghost Protocol opened in December, as a platform release – a move that was hailed as visionary at the time. Starting in just 425 (primarily IMAX) locations, M:I 4 took in $12.7 million in its first weekend, or more than $30,000 per-screen. That initial release helped build word of mouth for the film, which ascended to first place when it expanded nationwide one week later. Ghost Protocol remained in first place the following weekend as well, falling just .5 percent from its sophomore frame. Among major studio releases, that stands as one of the more impressive holds in recent memory – aside from films that significantly boost their theatre counts. In fact, over the holiday season of 2011 – 2012, a period that had more than its share of major box office contenders, Ghost Protocol wound up as the one undisputed blockbuster, taking in over $200 million in North America alone.