Movie quiz: This quiz will (not) self-destruct in five seconds FacebookTwitterEmail Not an actual scene from 1996's "Mission: Impossible." This is just how Tom Cruise relaxes on a day off. Paramount Pictures Twenty-five years ago this Saturday — May 22, 1996 — the first film in the “Mission: Impossible” film series was released. It reworked the classic television show of the 60s and 70s into a star vehicle for Tom Cruise, and rankled the feathers of the original TV cast and many devoted fans. Since then, though, the franchise has only gotten better and better, with ever-increasing box office totals to boot. In fact, the seventh and eight entries are currently filming back-to-back for release in 2022 and 2023.