'Mission: Impossible 5' Set for Christmas 2015 Opening Date

Break out those sleigh bells and start playing the Mission: Impossible theme — the next installment in Tom Cruise's super spy franchise has been given a Christmas 2015 opening date. Paramount Pictures announced on Wednesday that Mission: Impossible 5 will hit theaters on Dec. 25, 2015.

This puts the sequel, which will be directed by Christopher McQuarrie, up against Ben Affleck's Live by Night and Kung Fu Panda 3. There's also the tiny issue of Star Wars: Episode VII opening just a week before this on Dec. 18, 2015. There are some movies you can take your chances against. Maybe they'll flop. Maybe they'll do great for a weekend and then fizzle out. Star Wars: Episode VII isn't that kind of movie.

I'd have to imagine these Christmas 2015 movies will eventually find new release dates. Episode VII's release date was only announced last week, but there's no way you'd want to go up against it. That's box office suicide.