It has long been argued that the box office crash of “Dead Reckoning” was caused not by “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” but in part thanks to its title, which suggested to audiences that they were getting an incomplete film. While “Dead Reckoning” expertly sets up its sequel, however, it doesn’t end on a cliff-hanger, making dropping “Part One” a pretty sound, albeit last-minute, decision — Paramount Pictures didn’t make the change in time for the film’s Blu-ray release, meaning local retailers are still selling copies with “Part One” plastered all over them.
Meanwhile, the studio confirmed in October 2023 that the “Dead Reckoning Part Two” subtitle has been dropped from the now-untitled sequel. We have no idea what that picture will be called as of publication, but thankfully, because it’s still in production — and the Christopher McQuarrie-directed “Mission: Impossible” films tend to wing it most of the time — he and Tom Cruise have plenty of time to figure it out.
