Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

Although Mission Impossible III debuted as the number one movie this past weekend, ticket sales were well below industry expectations and lower than Paramount’s Mission: Impossible II which debuted six years ago at $57.8 million. Box office numbers for M:I 3 came in at roughly $40 million, $10 million lower than M:I 2.

Industry experts are wondering whether Tom Cruise’s erratic behavior in the past year was responsible for the lower numbers. The tabloid buzz over his relationship with actress Katie Holmes and the birth of their daughter, Cruise’s opinion’s on Scientology and psychiatry, down to the infamous couch jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s set seemed to have left fans with an “I’m over it” type of attitude.

“Expectations were really high for this film. I think it’s a good number, but people were obviously expecting better numbers,” said Paul Dergarbedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relarions. “There’s a lot to be said for how a star’s public persona can affect a movie’s box office.”

RV came in second in ticket sales at $11.1 million and American Haunting landed at number 3 with $6.4 million.