Tom Cruise is now the last among the movie stars with great star power, and it is undeniable that this position grants him immense influence over his studio, particularly in the ongoing struggle with Paramount. While he has faced his fair share of challenges with the studio in the past, Paramount has also struggled to accommodate his needs.
During Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One, lines were crossed as the actor and his director way too frequently changed their minds without informing Paramount of their decisions. This led to the film’s release date being pushed four times before finally hitting the screens.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One Went Way Over Budget Because of Tom Cruise
The recent The Hollywood Reporter report included claims from an insider source who had insights into what happened behind the scenes between Paramount and Tom Cruise, ultimately leading the star to establish ties with Warner Bros. They stated,
“Tensions have gotten higher between Tom and Paramount as relates to budget and collaboration–He doesn’t send script pages, doesn’t let them see dailies. He used to be very responsible on budgets. That changed on Dead Reckoning.”
Thus, it is very evident that there have been some tense moments behind the scenes. It was reported that due to the slow pace of production necessitated by COVID, the movie had reportedly cost a lot more than planned, ballooning to nearly $300 million to be more precise it was $291 million.
The slow production, coupled with Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie’s sudden change of plans, that is evident in instances like the submarine sequence in Part One. Originally intended for Part Two, they decided during filming that it should be included in the first movie, led the Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins state in a Variety interview,
“Let’s just say that the studio and the production and Tom were in a disagreement over direction, and there was a stalemate going on. We had to hit the pause button. They were stuck on how they were going to move forward with ‘Dead Reckoning Part Two’ while finishing ‘Part One.’ It was a production issue, and it was about the scope of what was being asked for. And the question we needed to ask was do we need this and why? And then how big is it going to be, and how long is that going to take?”
It is now being revealed according to The Hollywood Reporter, the film hemorrhaged over $25 million, with some sources suggesting the loss was much farther the stated number here.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Struggled at the Box Office
Despite the significant buzz surrounding the Tom Cruise movie admist the Barhenheimer hype, along with its impressive ratings and massive budget, it struggled to establish a strong foothold in the box office. As Dead Reckoning Part One managed to gross $566 million, according to The Numbers.
In comparison, Rogue Nation earned $682.7 million on a $150 million budget, Mission: Impossible – Fallout grossed $791.7 million on a $178 million budget, and Ghost Protocol made $694.7 million on a $145 million budget. According to the afformentioned numbers, Part One should have grossed a lot more, especially to justify its hefty budget.
In hindsight, the decision not to further postpone Dead Reckoning Part One resulted in the studio missing out on potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. As Paramount declined IMAX’s request to delay the release, limiting the film’s run on IMAX screens to just nine days. Despite a less crowded August release schedule, the studio probably missed the opportunity for an extended presence with the blockbuster.
