Watch order guide · Mission: Impossible

How to watch the Mission: Impossible movies in order

Updated October 21, 2026 · 12 min read · 10 titles · 177 hours

Watch the Mission: Impossible films in release order from Mission: Impossible (1996). The first three are self-contained; from Ghost Protocol (2011) the films build on each other, and Rogue Nation, Fallout, Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning form one continuing story.

Titles

10

Films

8

Series

2

Watch time

177 hours

Box office

$4.77 billion

Avg IMDb

7.3

Mission: Impossible movies in release order

Here is every Mission: Impossible title in the order it came out, 1966 to 2025: 8 films and 2 series. Optional entries are marked; you can skip them on a first watch.

Mission: Impossible timeline: movies in chronological order

The same titles in story order, by when they take place, with the year or era each one is set in.

Release or chronological: which order is best?

Release order and story order disagree on 10 titles here. In release order you start with Mission: Impossible (1966); in story order you start with Mission: Impossible, set in 1996, which came out 30 years later.

First time through, watch in release order. That is how the twists, returning characters and callbacks were built to land, and later entries assume you have seen the earlier ones. On a rewatch, try story order. It turns Mission: Impossible into one continuous story and makes the prequels play as setup instead of backstory.

Mission: Impossible also runs a separate continuity: The TV series. It has its own line on the timeline, so you can watch it on its own without breaking the main story.

Where to start

Every Mission: Impossible movie, explained

One entry per title in release order: what it is about, why it matters to the bigger story, who is in it and how it did.

No. 01 · 1966 · Series · 130h 49m · 9th in story order · optional

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.

Why it matters: The original TV series; optional.

Starring

Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, and Bob Johnson

Creator

Bruce Geller

Scores

IMDb 7.9

Episodes

171 across 7 seasons

No. 02 · 1988 · Series · 28h 1m · 10th in story order · optional

Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. The show is a revival of the 1966 TV series of the same name. The only actor to return for the series as a regular cast member was Peter Graves who played Jim Phelps, although two other cast members from the original series returned as guest stars. The only other regular cast member to return for every episode was the voice of "The Tape", Bob Johnson.

Why it matters: The TV revival; optional.

Starring

Peter Graves, Thaao Penghlis, and Antony Hamilton

Creator

Bruce Geller

Scores

IMDb 7.5

Episodes

35 across 2 seasons

No. 03 · 1996 · Film · 1h 51m · 1st in story order

Mission: Impossible

When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the prime suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.

Why it matters: Ethan Hunt's first mission; the Langley vault heist.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, and Emmanuelle Béart

Director

Brian De Palma

Box office

$458 million on a $80 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.2 · Rotten Tomatoes 65%

No. 04 · 2000 · Film · 2h 3m · 2nd in story order

Mission: Impossible 2

With computer genius Luther Stickell at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt races across Australia and Spain to stop a former IMF agent from unleashing a genetically engineered biological weapon called Chimera. This mission, should Hunt choose to accept it, plunges him into the center of an international crisis of terrifying magnitude.

Why it matters: A standalone John Woo action film.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, and Thandiwe Newton

Director

John Woo

Box office

$546 million on a $125 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 58%

No. 05 · 2006 · Film · 2h 6m · 3rd in story order

Mission: Impossible III

Retired from active duty, and training recruits for the Impossible Mission Force, agent Ethan Hunt faces the toughest foe of his career: Owen Davian, an international broker of arms and information, who's as cunning as he is ruthless. Davian emerges to threaten Hunt and all that he holds dear – including the woman Hunt loves.

Why it matters: Introduces Ethan's wife Julia, whose story runs through to Fallout.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Ving Rhames

Director

J.J. Abrams

Box office

$398 million on a $150 million budget

Scores

IMDb 6.9 · Rotten Tomatoes 73%

No. 06 · 2011 · Film · 2h 13m · 4th in story order

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.

Why it matters: The IMF is disavowed; the Burj Khalifa climb.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg

Director

Brad Bird

Box office

$695 million on a $145 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 94%

No. 07 · 2015 · Film · 2h 11m · 5th in story order

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet—eradicating 'The Syndicate', an International and highly-skilled rogue organization committed to destroying the IMF.

Why it matters: Introduces Ilsa Faust and the Syndicate; leads straight into Fallout.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, and Simon Pegg

Director

Christopher McQuarrie

Box office

$683 million on a $150 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 94%

No. 08 · 2018 · Film · 2h 27m · 6th in story order

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.

Why it matters: The direct sequel to Rogue Nation and a high point of the series.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, and Ving Rhames

Director

Christopher McQuarrie

Box office

$824 million on a $178 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.7 · Rotten Tomatoes 98%

No. 09 · 2023 · Film · 2h 44m · 7th in story order

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the world's fate at stake and dark forces from Ethan's past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan must consider that nothing can matter more than his mission—not even the lives of those he cares about most.

Why it matters: Part one of the Entity story.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, and Ving Rhames

Director

Christopher McQuarrie

Box office

$571 million on a $220 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 96%

No. 10 · 2025 · Film · 2h 50m · 8th in story order

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

Ethan Hunt and team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world's governments and a mysterious ghost from Hunt's past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.

Why it matters: Concludes the Entity story and ties back to the first film.

Starring

Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, and Ving Rhames

Director

Christopher McQuarrie

Box office

$599 million on a $400 million budget

Scores

IMDb 7.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 80%

Mission: Impossible box office and budgets

The 8 Mission: Impossible films with reported numbers have grossed $4.77 billion worldwide on about $1.45 billion in combined budgets, roughly 3.3 times what they cost. The biggest is Mission: Impossible - Fallout at $824 million, 17% of the franchise's total on its own, followed by Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ($695 million) and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation ($683 million).

Measured against what it cost, the best return belongs to Mission: Impossible, which made 5.7 times its $80 million budget. The weakest was Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning at 1.5 times its $400 million budget. As a rule of thumb, a film needs about two and a half times its budget at the box office to cover marketing and the theaters' cut.

The best and worst rated Mission: Impossible movies

Across 10 rated titles, Mission: Impossible averages 7.3 on IMDb. The top of the list is Mission: Impossible at 7.9, then Mission: Impossible - Fallout (7.7) and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (7.6). At the bottom: Mission: Impossible 2 (6.1) and Mission: Impossible III (6.9).

1. Mission: Impossible7.9
2. Mission: Impossible - Fallout7.7 · RT 98%
3. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One7.6 · RT 96%
4. Mission: Impossible7.5
5. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol7.4 · RT 94%
6. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation7.4 · RT 94%
7. Mission: Impossible7.2 · RT 65%
8. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning7.1 · RT 80%
9. Mission: Impossible III6.9 · RT 73%
10. Mission: Impossible 26.1 · RT 58%

Who appears in the most Mission: Impossible movies

Tom Cruise leads with 8 appearances as Ethan Hunt, ahead of Ving Rhames (7) and Simon Pegg (6). Counted from each title's top-billed cast.

Mission: Impossible directors and creators

6 filmmakers have directed or created Mission: Impossible; Christopher McQuarrie has the most, with 4.

• Christopher McQuarrieMission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)
• Bruce GellerMission: Impossible (1966) and Mission: Impossible (1988)
• Brian De PalmaMission: Impossible (1996)
• John WooMission: Impossible 2 (2000)
• J.J. AbramsMission: Impossible III (2006)
• Brad BirdMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

How long it takes to watch every Mission: Impossible movie

All 10 titles add up to 177 hours: 18 hours of film and 159 hours of series, counting every episode. That is about 89 two-hour evenings, or 18 days of ten-hour binges. The essentials cut it to 18 hours. The longest film is Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning at 2h 50m.

Which Mission: Impossible movies can you skip?

2 titles can go without losing the main story. They are side stories, spin-offs or entries the later films ignore. Dropping them saves 159 hours.

• Mission: Impossible1966 · Series · 130h 49m · optionalThe original TV series; optional.
• Mission: Impossible1988 · Series · 28h 1m · optionalThe TV revival; optional.

Common questions

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